Darren Waller couldn’t have had a better start to the 2019 season. Through three weeks, Waller has caught 26 passes for 267 yards as he leads all tight ends in receptions and receiving yards. His breakout season is going better than anyone could have expected and people are taking notice.
Through three weeks, Waller is Pro Football Focus’ third-ranked tight end, just behind George Kittle and Mark Andrews. Waller has the fourth-highest receiving grade in addition to earning high marks for his run and pass blocking.
In Oakland’s Week 3 game against Minnesota, Waller was the team’s highest-graded player, earning a grade of 86. Even though the sample size is small, it’s becoming quite evident that Waller is one of the team’s best players.
As the season goes on, expect the team to continue to rely on Waller to be a workhorse in the passing game. Eventually, teams are going to start game-planning to take him away. When that happens, Oakland is going to need to find other players to step up in the passing game. But until then, Waller is going to put up monster numbers in Jon Gruden’s offense.
