The Giants added a significant weapon at tight end by trading for Darren Waller this offseason.
While Waller has missed significant time in each of the last two seasons due to injury, the 30-year-old should still be plenty effective when healthy.
This week, quarterback Daniel Jones talked about how impressed he’s been with Waller’s size and speed.
“You hear about most guys and they’re listed in the program as 6-6 when they’re really like 6-4 or 6-5,” Jones said via Bob Brookover of NJ.com. “But he’s like a true 6-6 and he’s a true 250, 260 [pounds], and he can fly, and he can run all the routes.”
Jones added that Waller is “just an impressive athlete.”
“And he has been locked in,” Jones said. “You can tell it’s important to him. He’s put a lot of effort into learning stuff and getting caught up and it has been fun working with him.”
Waller’s breakout season came back in 2019 when he caught 90 passes for 1,145 yards with three touchdowns for the Raiders. He followed that with 107 catches for 1,196 yards and nine touchdowns in 2020.
But injuries limited Waller to 11 games in 2021 and he caught 55 passes for 665 yards with two TDs. Then last season Waller appeared in nine games with six starts, catching 28 passes for 388 yards with three scores.
New York’s offense would get a big boost if Waller can return to 2019 and 2020 levels of production.
“He definitely gives something for a defense to worry about and to game plan for,” Jones said. “And we can move him around and put him in different spots. He’s just a super versatile player.”