Giants GM Joe Schoen expects Darren Waller to be a big part of New York's offense
Darren Waller has been one of the NFL’s better tight ends over the past four seasons. His talents are now the Giants’ to use as the former Pro Bowler made his way from Las Vegas to New York this offseason via trade.
Now, one of the men who traded for him, Giant GM Joe Schoen, is very high on Waller’s upcoming role in New York’s offense. To be clear, the franchise is still sorting out where he fits best. As he said on ‘The Rich Eisen Show’, though, Waller will make an impact at some point or another based on what he has already seen from him in training camp.
“He’s still trying to figure out the offense and blend in with the group. So we’re going day by day, still figuring out what his strengths are and how we want to utilize him,” Schoen said.
“I expect him to be a big part of the offense, however the coaches decide to utilize him,” said Schoen. “He’s shown some really good flashes out there so far. I’m excited to see him once we get into the regular season.”
Waller has just under 300 career catches to his name from his two seasons in Baltimore and previous five seasons with the Raiders. 252 of them came in a three-year stretch from 2019 to 2021, a stretch where he won Comeback Player of the Year and earned his first Pro Bowl selection, as he posted just over 3,000 receiving yards and 14 touchdowns.
Injuries brought that run to a halt last season as Waller appeared in just nine games after missing a large chunk in the middle of the season.
Even so, Waller is in New York for a reason. With his talent and as a weapon at this position, he should fit right in for Daniel Jones as a target in the Giant offense.
Waller says Raider’s trade to the Giants wasn’t a huge surprise
It’s been several months since Darren Waller landed in New York in a trade away from the Las Vegas Raiders. He is now opening up about that experience.
Although Waller says he wasn’t “totally shocked,” he was surprised that he wound up in New York in particular.
“Not totally shocked,” Waller said, via Adam Hill of the Las Vegas Review-Journal. “I had heard some things. There were different moments throughout the year that I heard I may be traded or I may not. So the actual event of it wasn’t too shocking.
“But I didn’t expect it to be the Giants.”
Just last year, Waller signed an extension with Las Vegas that paid him $17 million per year. That salary is now the Giants’ responsibility to pay.
New York also traded a third-round pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, pick No. 100, in exchange for Waller.