Fantasy football impact of TE Darren Waller being traded to the Giants

The Las Vegas Raiders are trading tight end Darren Waller to the New York Giants for a third-round pick, per Adam Schefter. Waller is under contract for four more seasons and instantly boosts the Giants' offense.

Waller has vastly exceeded expectations from when he came into the league. He was a sixth-round pick by the Baltimore Ravens in the 2015 NFL Draft. Waller joined the Raiders in 2018 and had a breakout season in 2019. Since then, he has been considered one of the top tight ends in the league.

Last year, he played in nine games as he dealt with injuries. He brought in 28 of his 43 targets for 388 yards and three touchdowns. It was certainly a down year for Waller, but he now joins a new offense with Daniel Jones and Saquon Barkley. The benefit for the tight end is that, at this point, he is the team’s best pass-catcher and should see a huge uptick in targets back to his 2020 numbers.

Fantasy Football Impact

The Giants needed a reliable pass-catcher to join their offense. Last year, Darius Slayton had PPR value solely because there just weren’t any other players around challenging him for targets. Jones should lean on Waller in the passing attack. Obviously, Travis Kelce is going to be the top tight end in fantasy drafts yet again. Waller should find himself in the mix for that second tier of tight ends from his talent and the amount Jones will likely be checking down.