Darren Waller giants
Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports

The Giants entered this past offseason with a few things on their to-do list. Outside of retaining guys like Daniel Jones and Saquon Barkley, New York had to acquire players who could add firepower to the offense. One of the ways in which Joe Schoen got that done was by making a trade for Darren Waller with the Las Vegas Raiders.

Rob Gronkowski, a former tight end and one of the best to ever play the position, is expecting big things with Waller playing under head coach Brian Daboll. Here’s what he had to say on FanDuel’s “Up and Adams” Show with Kay Adams:

Gronk was clearly trying to stay vague by saying Waller was going to “have a year”. Adams made sure to extract as many details as possible from the Super Bowl champion, which surely irked people who believe in jinxes. (At least Sal Licata didn’t say it, folks.)

While this past season didn’t bring a ton of catches or yards, Waller’s career blossomed with the Raiders. He enjoyed back-to-back seasons with 90-plus catches and 1,100 yards from 2019-20. That 2020 campaign also included a career-high nine touchdowns and a Pro Bowl selection.

Gronk mentioned that Daboll loves getting his tight ends involved on offense. Maybe that’s why some 2023 mock drafts predicted Notre Dame tight end Michael Mayer getting selected by New York.

Darren Waller is paired with Daniel Bellinger at the top of New York’s tight-end depth chart. During his rookie year in 2022, Bellinger caught 30 of 35 targets for 268 yards and two touchdowns. Waller is under contract for multiple seasons, but the Giants have a potential out after next year, per Spotrac.

So, you’ve got a motivated player in a new situation with a coach who will get him involved on offense. That sounds like a recipe for success. Waller’s proficiency in the passing game also softens the blow of the Giants not getting a receiver in the first round of last week’s NFL Draft.

You can reach Matt Musico at matt.musico@xlmedia.com. You can follow him on Twitter: @mmusico8.

Matt Musico is an editor for ESNY. He’s been writing about baseball and the Mets for the past decade. His work has been featured on numberFire, MetsMerized Online, Bleacher Report, and Yahoo! Sports.