If you didn’t think yesterday’s trade between the Miami Dolphins and Pittsburgh Steelers, which saw Minkah Fitzpatrick and a 5th-round pick go from Pittsburgh to Miami for Jonnu Smith, Jalen Ramsey, and a 7th-round pick was crazy enough, things just took another twist. It was announced today that Darren Waller will be coming out of retirement to join the Miami Dolphins. The New York Giants technically still hold his rights, so a trade will take place to make that happen. 

The Dolphins were hesitant to pay Jonnu Smith, who wanted a new contract. And the Steelers were willing, as they gave him a one-year, $12 million deal right away. There are no details yet on the contract for Waller, but the assumptions are that it will be a reasonable deal given that info. Let’s take a look at Darren Waller's stats, his history, and how he fits with the Dolphins.

 

 


 

Darren Waller Career Statistics

We’ll get into why Darren Waller was a “late bloomer” in his football career below in the history section. But when he did emerge, he was a force for a couple of seasons with the Raiders. He came out of nowhere to finish as the TE3 in fantasy football with 90 catches on 117 targets for 1,1145 yards and three touchdowns. 

He then followed that up with an even better 2020 with 107 catches on 145 targets for 1,196 yards and 9 touchdowns. His 278.6 PPR points scored that year are a top 10 all-time season in fantasy football.

Injuries then derailed his career as he never played more than 12 games over his final three years. He played his final year in 2023 at age 31 when he did had 52 receptions on 74 targets with 552 yards but only one touchdown. He did do that in 12 games before calling it an NFL career - until now.
 

 

 

Darren Waller History

The Darren Waller story is an interesting one because he wasn’t always a tight end. He was drafted by the Baltimore Ravens in 2015 as a wide receiver. But drug and alcohol issues saw him wash out with the Ravens and actually miss the 2017 season completely as he struggled to get sober.

In 2018, he caught on with the (then) Oakland Raiders but only appeared in four games as a wide receiver. In 2019, they made the wise decision to convert him to tight end, where he had his breakout season. His struggle with sobriety and subsequent return to glory landed him the third most votes for NFL Comeback Player of the Year that season.

 

 

 

Darren Waller Dolphins Scheme Fit

As a converted wide receiver, teams have always leaned into the pass-catching abilities of Waller. But he did bulk up on his 6’6” frame to the point where he actually played 65% of his snaps from an inline spot for the Raiders in his 2020 breakout season. Assuming he is still in shape, he can be more than just a receiving threat for the Dolphins.
That said, they might not need him to operate that way. Last year, the Dolphins only used Jonnu Smith as the inline tight end for 26.6% of his snaps, with nearly 70% coming from a WR spot and the rest being backfield snaps. It’s worth noting that Jonnu Smith actually ran the second-most routes of any tight end while split out all the way wide last year, behind only Travis Kelce.

For fantasy football, we still need to deal with the fact that Waller will most likely be third at best on this team in targets behind Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle. And De’Von Achane got 87 targets last year himself, so he’s not even a lock for third. It’s naturally incredibly risky to chase an injury-prone 32-year-old who is a year separated from playing football. But there is some upside there if he comes back in great shape and can capture some of the old magic. 

 

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