Darren Waller Reflects on Personal, Professional Growth as Giants Career Begins
Tight end Darren Waller, the newest member of the New York Giants, is getting ready for his eighth NFL season ahead in 2023.
But as far as the 30-year-old is concerned, he's far from being a finished product both on and off the field.
Waller, speaking to Giants reporters via video conference after his trade from the Raiders to the Giants for a third-round pick (No. 1000 overall), reflected on his journey and candidly spoke about how far he's come--and how far he still would like to go.
"For me, number one, the growth starts with just being available as much as possible for the team,” Waller said Wednesday.
That would certainly be music to the Giants' ears. Waller has been limited to just 20 games in the last two seasons, including nine last year, before finally succumbing to a nagging hamstring injury.
Las Vegas Raiders Darren Waller (83) signals for a first down as Pittsburgh Steelers Minkah Fitzpatrick (39) says it was incomplete during the first half at Acrisure Stadium in Pittsburgh, PA on December 24, 2022.
Michael Longo/For USA Today Network / USA TODAY NETWORK
Fully healthy, Waller is determined to be consistent and available to his new team.
“I feel like I'm just a football player,” he said. “I’ll line up out wide. I'll line up in the slot. I'll line up inline. I'll block--I'll crack the end if you want me to. Whatever you ask me to do, I feel like I can do it at a high level, and that's what I plan on doing here.”
He was also frank about various techniques and intricacies in his game that he'd like to improve, which he'll begin doing later this off-season once players and coaches are allowed to work together.
Waller, originally a sixth-round draft pick by the Ravens in 2015, will look to hone his craft with Giants tight ends coach Andy Bischoff, who was an offensive assistant with the Ravens during Waller's two seasons with the team.
“Route running technique is something that I always feel like I can grow in,” he said when asked how he’d like to grow in his craft.
“I've grown tremendously from coming into the league and moving to tight end. Being such a big guy, I feel like just keeping my pads low, being crisp in and out of breaks, not taking so many steps to get out of routes is always a work in progress and a craft for me."
He also wants to improve his run blocking.
"I feel like I've had moments where I've been there, and there are moments where I haven't performed as well as I would've liked to. So it's just finding consistency in that aspect of my game as well and trying to be as well-rounded as possible,” he said.
Waller also continues to grow off the field from his experiences as a youth in which he battled addiction. He told the New York Post in 2020 that overcoming those demons helped him gain perspective.
“I feel like the greatest lessons I've taken from my recovery journey to the field is just to be centered in a present moment to take things one day at a time,” he said.
And should adversity strike again, Waller believes he's ready to handle whatever life throws at him.
"I feel like resiliency has been formed in private matters in my life and smaller adversities that happen over the course of seasons, whether I'm successful or not as successful as I want to be, I feel like those continue to prepare me for moments where adversity comes again," he said.
- Get the latest breaking news and analysis on the New York Giants
- Follow and like us on Facebook
- Submit your questions for our mailbag
- Check out the Giants Country YouTube Channel.
- Subscribe and like the LockedOn Giants YouTube Channel
- Sign up for our FREE message board forums
- Get your Giants tickets from SI Tickets!
