With the Oakland Raiders now relocating to the city of Las Vegas, they are going to need some star power to attract a new audience. While the Raiders current QB Derek Carr and WR1 Tyrell Williams haven’t established themselves at the elite level at their positions, Darren Waller showed in 2019 that he could emerge as a top-tier Tight End in the NFL and was the most productive player on the roster last season. With Head Coach Jon Gruden and GM Mike Mayock showing their public support for Waller, the 27-year old looks primed to keep that success going as he suits up for the first professional football team in Nevada history.
Darren Waller burst onto the scene in the 2019 season by producing like a top-5 Tight End, showing off his elite speed and overall skillset. However, the former Georgia Tech alum fought though a great amount of hardship and adversity to become the premier player he is today. Waller wasn’t in the best situation at Georgia Tech, being a WR in a run-heavy triple option scheme that requires 10x more blocking than running routes. Waller’s most productive receiving season as a Yellow Jacket netted only 442 receiving yards and six touchdowns.
The lack of targets helped Waller develop into a dominant blocker which eased his transition into becoming an NFL-ready Tight End but two NCAA drug test-related suspensions eliminated him from plenty of NFL draft big boards. However, the Baltimore Ravens saw enough upside in the Georgia native to select him in the sixth round of the 2015 NFL Draft, but Darren Waller struggled to find his footing in a rough city and a crowded Ravens TE room.
There isn’t many more susceptible places in the country when it comes to drugs and violence than Baltimore, MD. Baltimore is overwhelmed with homelessness, drug abuse, & murders which didn’t help Waller’s own drug abuse. During his three years living in Baltimore, Darren believed he failed nearly 100 drug tests which led to a four-game suspension in 2016 and a season-long ban in 2017. A major takeaway from his interview on Barstool’s Bussin’ with the Boys (linked below) is that he almost overdosed in a Baltimore parking lot which became a turning point in his life.
Once Waller went through rehab and turned his life around, he was given an opportunity to join the Oakland Raiders in 2018. The rest is history as he went from 178 receiving yards over 22 games during the first three years of his career to becoming a durable 16-game starter, fantasy football sleeper, and matchup nightmare during his fourth season. Some would consider him a late bloomer but really it was just tons of talent hidden behind a complicated and dark time in his young career.
It’s quite the story for a man that once considered himself a “junky playing football.” Waller went from doing drugs before games to overcoming ten years of drug abuse and channeling one of the most promising careers in the NFL. Darren’s earned the respect of all his peers and everyone is rooting for him to continue down the right path. Some may believe the 27-year-old will just be a one-year wonder, but his motivated approach to perform at a high level in Sin City after receiving a 3y/$27M extension last year leads evaluators to believe his future outlook should be above just about any TE besides George Kittle and Mark Andrews (Travis Kelce will be 31 in 2020). If Carr shows any signs of improvement in 2020, it could elevate Darren Waller’s production to another level.
FUTURE OUTLOOK: A-
The Las Vegas Raiders have a great TE room that features blocking, athleticism, and upside along with veteran experience. Although the best current player is Darren Waller, Jason Witten is the unquestioned most accomplished player of the group as a future first ballot Hall of Famer.
Everyone assumed Jason Witten would be a Cowboy for life, but his winning pedigree and consistent production made him an attractive target for the Raiders to pair alongside Waller and Foster Moreau. Despite retiring during the 2018 season to be a Monday Night Football broadcaster, Witten proved in 2019 that he still has plenty left in the tank after starting all 16 games and racking up 529 yards to go with 4 TD for the Dallas Cowboys this past season.
Foster Moreau was selected in the fourth round of the 2019 Draft out of LSU. Moreau had a very impressive rookie season, hauling in five touchdowns and starting seven games as Waller’s primary backup. Despite playing behind a 1,000yd threat and being the tenth TE selected in the draft, Foster had more touchdowns than any rookie TE and even had two more than Waller himself.
Moreau showed enough promise to be ranked PFF’s 19th best TE (of 67) and earned a 80.8 receiving grade which is tied for 8th best among TE’s. Moreau quickly proved that he was a sleeper draft prospect as the 137th overall pick that continues to prove this 2019 Raiders draft class has a chance to be one of the best in recent history.
The group is rounded out by by eight-year vet Derek Carrier, who is the best blocker and special teams contributor of the group. Carrier’s impact cannot be showcased on the stat sheet but he provided a massive boost to Josh Jacobs’ production as one of his lead blockers. Most of the 30-year-old’s offensive snaps will now go to Jason Witten but Raiders fans can still expect to see Carrier out there on the goal line, in jumbo sets, and still serve as a prominent presence on Special Teams.
RAIDERS TE OUTLOOK: A
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