Giants' prized offseason acquisition lands in the top five of ESPN's positional rankings
While the New York Giants' acquisition of tight end Darren Waller may seem risky, the 30-year-old's talent is undeniable, which has earned him praise from the media.
On Thursday, ESPN's Jeremy Fowler continued his NFL positional rankings series by publishing his list of the top 10 tight ends for the 2023 season. The analyst polled league executives, scouts, coaches and players to compile the results.
As one might've guessed, Kansas City's Travis Kelce and San Francisco's George Kittle topped the list, but despite playing sparingly in recent seasons, Waller still managed to claim the No. 5 spot. Waller, who was placed third in Fowler's 2022 survey, was voted as high as No. 3 this year, with his lowest ranking coming in at No. 9.
"It's hard to knock [Waller] for a bad situation with the QB transition in Las Vegas and injuries," one NFC executive told ESPN. "He's still behind just Kelce as pass-catcher."
An AFC executive stated that Waller has the potential to be an impact player for New York since "he can still run." However, the exec stressed that Waller's most successful years came when he had minimal competition for targets while playing on teams with a losing record. As much as the statement may be true, Waller will likely serve as the top option in New York's passing attack this season.
The Giants entered the offseason desperate for more pass catchers after amassing the sixth-fewest receiving yards a season ago (3,431). However, after failing to find any free-agent wideouts worth splurging on, Giants GM Joe Schoen opted to trade for the Pro Bowl tight end.
Although health will always be a concern, the Giants didn't give up much to land Waller. New York sent the Las Vegas Raiders the No. 100 pick in April's draft, which was acquired from Kansas City for oft-injured WR Kadarius Toney last season. It's a bargain for the player with the 20th-most receptions in the NFL since 2019 (280), even though Waller has appeared in just 20 games over the last two seasons.
Despite the praise from ESPN, Waller knows better than anyone that he'll have to maintain his availability if he wants to live up to his high ranking.
"I view this season as an opportunity to get back to having fun and just being available for my teammates every and each week," Waller said after a May OTA session, via the team website. "That's something I haven't been able to do the last couple years, and I'm fully aware of that. I'm doing everything in my control to be able to be out there and be accountable, be reliable, by just being out there every day."
"I'm excited about that challenge, Waller continued. "I've done it before, and I'm ready to do it again."
The Giants can only hope that Waller delivers on his commitment as the team aims to build on a promising 2022 season.
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