The New York Giants made a huge upgrade to their roster early in free agency via trade. They acquired tight end Darren Waller from the Las Vegas Raiders in exchange for a third-round pick, No. 100 overall, in the 2023 NFL Draft.
In desperate need of weapons to put around quarterback Daniel Jones, the Giants got a great player in Darren Waller at an affordable price. When you take into consideration that the Raiders were offered a second-round pick in exchange for him ahead of the deadline in November, this deal looks even better for New York.
There is certainly a little bit of risk involved as Darren Waller has been unable to stay on the field the last two seasons. He missed six games in 2021 and eight this past season, battling through a myriad of injuries. But, Darren Waller showed just how dominant he could be the two seasons before the injuries occurred.
In 2020, he made the Pro Bowl roster catching 107 passes for 1,196 yards and nine touchdowns. That was the second straight season he surpassed the 1,000-yard mark, cementing himself as one of the best pass-catching tight ends in the NFL.
A big reason for his success was crossing routes as linebackers weren’t athletic enough to keep up with him and safeties couldn’t combat his size. Since 2019, Darren Waller has averaged 2.2 yards per route run, which is the fourth most among tight ends according to NFL’s Next Gen Stats.
The only players with a higher number are George Kittle, Mark Andrews and Travis Kelce. His 50 receptions on crossing routes are the third-highest mark among tight ends in that time, making him a great match for Jones. Jones targets crossers often, as his 16.9 percent was the third-highest rate in the NFL last season.
Daniel Bellinger had a great rookie season with the Giants and will now be paired up with the team’s newest acquisition. That will give Brian Daboll and Mike Kafka some flexibility when it comes to scheming up plays and personnel. A pass-catching threat of this caliber just didn’t exist for Big Blue last season, but that will certainly change with Darren Waller in town.
