The Giants and Raiders have agreed on a huge trade that sends Darren Waller to the Big Apple, according to published reports. Las Vegas will get the compensatory third-round pick the Giants received in the Kadarius Toney trade in return for the 30-year-old tight end, and Waller gets a new start in New York.
The trade is a good one for Waller, as the Giants lack big-time playmakers in the passing game. The team dumped free-agent dud Kenny Golladay, leaving them with Isaiah Hodgins, Wan’Dale Robinson and newly re-signed Sterling Shepard as their best receivers. The G-Men do have a boatload of draft picks and will look to add a wideout or two, but at this point you can argue Waller is the best bet to lead the team in targets.
This is also good news for the fantasy appeal of the new $160 million quarterback Daniel Jones, who gets a big, pass-catching playmaker. All of you Daniel Bellinger truthers might want to jump on a new bandwagon, though. He’s now undraftable and won’t have much value unless Waller misses significant time.
That’s the downside with Waller: Injuries. He’s played in just 20 games in the last two seasons, and his combined statistics from those contests seriously pale in comparison to his impressive 2020 and 2021 campaigns where he had 90-plus catches and over 1,100 yards. If he can avoid the trainer’s room, Waller could easily re-emerge as a top-five tight end with Big Blue. It’s a risk-reward choice, however.
For now, I’d still rank Waller behind Travis Kelce, Mark Andrews, T.J. Hockenson, George Kittle and Dallas Goedert among tight ends. Regardless, he’s top-eight at the position and could be top five fantasy tight end in a best-case scenario.
As for where this leaves the Raiders, they just signed quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, wide receiver Jakobi Meyers and still have Davante Adams and Hunter Renfrow on the roster. Tight end Foster Moreau, who filled in nicely while Waller missed action in 2022, will likely take over the starting role in Las Vegas.
