Darren Waller

Week 2 at Arizona Cardinals

Darren Waller and the rest of the Giants’ offense was steamrolled by the Cowboys last week, but there were a few positive signs. Waller led the team with 36 receiving yards on three receptions and he was targeted five times. He and quarterback Daniel Jones seem to already have a nice rapport, and Waller has rare talent and volume potential for the position.

The Cardinals allowed five catches and 60 receiving yards to the Washington tight end group last week. Those aren’t bad numbers for a fantasy tight end, and Waller should be even better given his superior skill set. Waller sounds like he expects to be active and with the targets he’s likely to get, he should be active in all league formats.

Fantasy Upside
Darren Waller was limited to just nine games last season in an injury-marred year with a struggling Raiders’ offense. While he had a strong 13.9 yards per reception in the games he did play, his volume was massively impacted by the arrival of Davante Adams, receiving just 4.8 targets per game, down from 8.5 in 2021. Waller was shipped off to the Giants, who could use a reliable target in the passing game outside of running back Saquon Barkley. The Giants have made quality fantasy targets out of tight ends in the past, and Waller should get ample opportunity to challenge to be the target leader in New York.

Fantasy Downside
Health has been an issue the past two seasons for the soon-to-be-31-year-old, and it’s possible we’re seeing Waller on the downside of his career. He’s now two full seasons removed from his elite 2020 season, and he finished just 10th (2022) and eighth (2021) in half-PPR fantasy points per game the past two years.

2023 Bottom Line
It’s possible Daniel Jones and Brian Daboll are able to revive Waller’s career as an elite fantasy tight end, but he’s no longer a sure bet for a full season of production. Fantasy managers should weigh the upside of his potential target share with the downside of his age and new environment carefully. Luckily, this is baked into his ADP, where our multi-site tool has him going in the middle rounds. We have him ranked fifth among tight ends, making him a potential steal at his current draft slot.

Week 16 at Pittsburgh Steelers

Darren Waller returned to action last week after a lengthy injury absence and he found the end zone in a crazy victory over the Patriots. He finished with only three catches, but 48 yards and a score were good enough for him to finish as the TE6 for the week. Waller has as much upside as anyone, when healthy, and he’s a welcome addition to the bleak options at the tight end position.

This week, Waller faces a Steelers defense that ranks 14th in aFPA to opposing tight ends. He’s risky, but so is every other tight end not named Travis Kelce, so we have him ranked inside our top 10 tight ends for Week 16. Start him.