The Darren Waller Trade is official. Giants land Waller in exchange for a third-round draft pick (100th overall). After surprising most of the fan base in the 2022 season by making the playoffs, the Giants are making moves. With the acquisition of Darren Waller, they are hoping for another successful season. Here’s the rundown on how the Darren Waller Trade is shaping fantasy and sports betting outlooks for next season.
Darren Waller’s Future Impact On The New York Giants
Darren Waller, who had phenomenal seasons in 2019 and 2020, took a step back in the last couple of years. Partly due to injury. He looks to bounce back after posting just 388 yards in nine games played last season. Some rumors are that Darren Waller and Las Vegas Raiders head coach Josh McDaniels didn’t see eye to eye all the time.
One notable instance of this is when Waller was allegedly upset with McDaniels. Apparently, he was leaking Waller’s wedding news to the media. Waller’s wife and WNBA star Kelsey Plum tweeted that McDaniels was “not invited” to the wedding, leading most to believe these rumors are true. Yikes, what is this? Real Tight-ends of Las Vegas?
The Darren Waller Trade: The Key to Success
On the field, the six-foot-six, 238-pound tight end is a mismatch for the opposing defense. His ability to stretch the field and add a legitimate weapon for this offense should make an immediate impact assuming he is healthy.
Darren Waller is 30 years old, and tight ends typically decline between 30-32 years of age. He may continue producing in his late-blooming career, and a new team may jolt him but only time will tell. He should provide some veteran grooming to the Giant’s young tight end Daniel Bellinger, who didn’t stuff the stat sheet but had an encouraging rookie year. This will allow him to develop behind Waller and perhaps help his career in the long term.
The Giant’s Chances Of Winning a Super bowl
The Giants will still be in the middle of the pack when the conversation of Super bowl favorites comes up. With the current odds sitting around +4000, it seems Vegas didn’t see the Darren Waller trade as one that can impact them on a championship level. I agree with them, as it will help keep them contending for a playoff spot. Still, I can’t imagine them surpassing some of the division rivals.
The Philadelphia Eagles showed just how far ahead of the Giants they were last season, beating them three times, with two being offensive explosions. Waller isn’t playing defense, but the Giants also know they need some help there. They recently signed Bobby Okereke to a four-year, $40 million contract. This now provides some support inside. It will take a massive leap for this team to make a Super Bowl appearance, but the Darren Waller trade should help move the ball down the field.Hopefully, leading to a more fluent offense than you saw a season ago.
Daniel Jones shouldn’t have to make as many broken play scramble miracles as he did last season. This will also make life easier on star running back Saquon Barkley, who had a phenomenal 2022-23 campaign. Defenses won’t be able to stack the box with a legitimate threat in the tight-end position.
Overall, if Waller remains on the field for more than 50% of snaps per game, you should expect a smoother offense.
Darren Waller Trade: Waller’s Fantasy Prediction
If you are in a dynasty league, it might be worth a buy low if you have a “compete now” roster and aren’t in rebuild mode. Assuming he is past the hamstring injury and can stay healthy, he should be the G-men’s number-one receiving option. He hopes to return to 2019-2020 form, which saw him achieve back-to-back seasons with over 1,000 yards. He is more than just an end zone target — we should see him rack up some yardage this season.
There’s always the possible that Daniel Jones continues to develop and eventually becomes elite. In that case, it could help put Darren Waller back in the top-five fantasy conversation for tight ends. If you are in redraft leagues, you should expect Darren Waller to be one of the first eight tight ends off the board. You have to look at who will get the most targets, and he appears to be the frontrunner. The receiving core is mediocre. Waller no doubt has the most big-play ability and I expect him to average around 8.5 fantasy points per game.
Cody Stelluto | Follow Me on Twitter @Townietalkcody