East Rutherford, NJ — With OTAs underway, the Giants have a few notable players who are not in attendance. However, of the players that are here, nobody is commanding more attention than new starting tight end Darren Waller.
Acquired from the Las Vegas Raiders in March, Waller has immediately made an impression on his new teammates, sometimes without having to do much of anything.
“You head about most guys or you see them in the program and they’re listed at 6’6″, and they’re really like 6’4″ or 6’5,” said Giants starting quarterback Daniel Jones. “He’s a true 6’6″. He’s a true 250, 260 [pounds] and can fly…He’s just an impressive athlete.”
“You can feel his presence,” added starting safety Xavier McKinney.
However, despite his commanding physical presence, what has most impressed his teammates is the way he approaches the mental side of the game as well.
“He’s just been locked in,” explained Jones. “You can tell it’s important to him. He’s put a lot of effort into learning the stuff and getting caught up. It’s been fun working with him.”
For Waller, who Jones referred to as “a real deep-thinking guy,” the challenge of learning a system as intricate as the Giants’ is a welcome challenge.
“It requires you to know everything that’s going on on the field, not just have yourself fixed in one spot,” explained Waller. “You need to know the whole picture of the offense. Why the quarterback’s looking in a certain direction, why you need to be in a certain window at a certain time. It forces you to move fast, think fast, and I love challenges. That’s what I like the most about it.”
This certainly isn’t the first challenge Waller has faced. His past struggle with drug addiction has been well-documented and things didn’t end on the best of terms with the Raiders, but Waller sees his time with the Giants as another chapter.
“I view this season as an opportunity to get back to…
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