New Giants tight end Darren Waller takes shot at former team, Las Vegas Raiders

Former Las Vegas Raiders tight end Darren Waller moved onto a new team this offseason. He had a very strange year last season, only hauling in 28 catches for 388 receiving yards and three touchdowns. He eventually decided to move onto the New York Giants this offseason. It didn’t take him long to take a parting shot at his old team. He feels much better in the new culture with the Giants under head coach Brian Daboll.

“Yeah, they value our opinions here,” Waller said Thursday in an article on ESPN by Jordan Raanan. “As a player, I feel like a lot of places I’ve gone, you’re told to do things a certain way and you do those things. But here it’s like, they ask a lot of questions. They want to know what you’re thinking, what you want to do more.”

“So to offer input is a really cool thing because coaches and players have to be in partnership. We’re all together and shouldn’t be clashing with each other. We’re all going in the same direction,” Waller said.

Input from the players is part of what makes Brian Daboll such an excellent offensive play caller. It’s a simple concept, but many coaches in the National Football League have completely ignored one of the basic tenets of great play calling over the years.

Do what your players do best. And try to avoid what they do poorly. When Daboll was hired, he immediately asked Daniel Jones and many of their top playmakers what their favorite plays were. He took those plays into consideration when developing the playbook. It was a big reason the Giants went 9-7-1 and won a playoff game.

Waller spent five seasons with the Las Vegas Raiders, where he had to play for Josh McDaniels and Jon Gruden. Both coaches have never been hailed as player-friendly coaches, not in the slightest. The relationship between Waller and the Raiders was described as “rocky” by one person close to him who spoke to ESPN in the offseason.

Less than a year ago Waller signed an extension with Las Vegas that paid him $17 million per year, which will now be the responsibility of the Giants to pay. New York is adding another weapon to their offense this offseason after signing quarterback Daniel Jones to a 4-year, $160 million deal and placing their franchise tag on running back Saquon Barkley.

Waller is 30 years old and will be entering his ninth season in the NFL. His last two seasons were riddled with injury, but the 2020 Pro Bowler is one of nine tight ends in league history to record back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons.

On3’s Kaiden Smith also contributed to this article.