There is a groundswell of hype surrounding New York Giants tight end Darren Waller, who was acquired in an offseason trade with the Las Vegas Raiders.
The 6-foot-6, 258-pound Waller impressed his coaches and teammates throughout organized team activities and minicamp, hauling in eye-popping catches while displaying unique traits the team hasn’t seen since the days of Jeremy Shockey.
By all accounts, Waller is ready to take the Giants’ offense to the next level but not everyone is buying in on the veteran tight end.
Dan Hanzus of NFL.com recently welcomed new additions to the 2023 NFL Superstar Club while also saying goodbye to a handful of others. Among those to get the boot was the Giants’ tight end.
We remained patient after Waller followed his breakout 2020 with an injury-plagued dud in 2021. We can’t look the other way after another injury-plagued campaign for Waller, who enters his age-31 season having missed 14 games in the past two years. The Raiders decided to move on from Waller less than a year after giving him a fat new contract (hmmm), dealing him to the Giants for the modest return of a Day 2 draft pick (odd). Waller now joins an offense that recorded just 17 touchdowns through the air last season. Could Waller be the missing piece for Daniel Jones in Brian Daboll’s attack? Sure … I just need to see it.
Waller was in good company on the way out the door, joining the likes of tight end George Kittle, running back Alvin Kamara, and wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins.
The recent injury history is an understandable concern, but Waller has changed his offseason approach in hopes of avoiding a repeat in 2023. He also benefits from joining the Giants, who, contrary to popular belief, have one of the league’s best training and medical staffs, led by Ronnie Barnes.
Waller also lucks out in the sense that he will avoid the old, disastrous MetLife Stadium turf, which was replaced this offseason.
