Raiders get first ever home win in Las Vegas
TE caught 12 passes for 103 yards, kept chains moving in 34-24 win over Saints
The talent of Darren Waller is not a secret any longer.
His personal story of overcoming addiction got Waller attention during a breakout season in 2019, but the only thing on display Monday night in a 34-24 win over the New Orleans Saints was his stunning ability and his strong relationship with quarterback Derek Carr.
The Saints’ own potent offense spent much of the first NFL game in Las Vegas on their sideline watching the Raiders, with Waller — as the main mover and shaker — rack up first downs and
eat valuable clock time.
Carr told ESPN announcers beforehand he was happy they were getting a chance to see Waller.
“I told them hopefully everyone is going to get to see everything about Darren Waller that we know him to be,” Carr said. “I’m glad to be his quarterback. I’m honored.”
Mission accomplished.
Carr threw in his Waller’s di
rection 16 times. Waller caught 12 passes for 103 yards and a touchdown. It was one off Waller’s career high of 13 last season in Minnesota, a wholly unsatisfying personal achievement considering it mostly came in garbage time of a one-sided loss.
Of Waller’s 12 catches, eight went for first downs as the Raiders compiled a 36:18 to 23:42 advantage in time of possession. He had five catches for 54 yards in the first half and seven for 49 yards in the second, with four first downs in each half.
After scoring just three touchdowns last season, Waller even got in the end zone on a 1-yard fourth-andgoal pass from Carr. Inexplicably, the Raiders’ most obvious target was left uncovered as the Saints fell for a play-fake to Josh Jacobs. Carr rolled to his right and Waller was all by his lonesome.
Waller’s personal story has in a sense overshadowed a skill set that ranks with the top tight ends of his position, including the Chiefs’ Travis Kelce, the 49ers’ George Kittle and the Eagles’ Zach Ertz.
“Darren’s a great player, our job is to try and get him the ball,” head coach Jon Gruden said. “I’d take him over any tight end. I know Kittle and Kelce are as good as they get, but Waller is right up there with them. This is his second year playing the position. It’s astonishing what this man can do.”
The whole “playing the position” part is where it gets tricky with Gruden and the Raiders’ offense. New England coach Bill Belichick, whose team hosts the Raiders Sunday in Foxboro, Mass., said as much Tuesday morning.
“He’s a big challenge. Really impressed by everything he does,” Belichick said in a conference call. “He’s a very competitive blocker. Has great size, great quickness for his size. Catches the ball very well. He can run all the routes and is a very versatile player. Shows good toughness and is a very competitive guy. He’ll definitely be a problem for us.”
Waller does line up sometimes as a conventional tight end. But he’ll also line up split as a wide receiver, or in the slot. You might find Waller in the backfield or going in motion.
During the week leading up to the game, Waller acknowledged that his stats could actually go down from the 90 catches for 1,145 yards he had in 2019 simply because the offense was so intent on spreading the ball around. Then in a memorable night when the Raiders broke in their new home with a significant win, Waller was Carr’s security blanket. Although 10 other players caught passes, no one else had more than three passes thrown in his direction.
“Our offense is so balanced right now, it’s amazing,” Waller said. “You could see it in training camp and once we got together as a team. There’s a lot of guys that deserve to have opportunities to get the rock because they’re going to make it happen. You could just go down the line, Bryan (Edwards), Henry (Ruggs), Zay Jones, Jalen Richard.”
At 6-foot-6, 255 pounds, Waller is too big for cornerbacks and safeties, too agile for linebackers. Carr is always on the lookout for the next mismatch, and New Orleans provided plenty of opportunities. It’s a complicated job, operating as a receiver from several different starting points, but Waller said it’s not nearly as complex as what Carr does on a downby-down basis.
“There’s a lot of volume in our system, a lot of stuff he needs to know,” Waller said. “I don’t know how he knows it all, all the checks and things like that. The time he puts in and the brainpower to remember all that stuff is impressive. His presence in the huddle, it was great before, but now it’s at a whole other level, how he commands guys to do things. Everybody follows his energy.”
Waller, signed off the Baltimore practice squad in 2018, had completed drug rehab, a process he continues to this day, and he’s willing and able to talk about with anyone who needs help. He found Carr to be a sympathetic listener and an instant friend.
“It got to be a thing where I didn’t want to let him down because he was there for me and I want to be there for him,” Waller said. “Once that’s there, it’s kind of easy to turn it on to the field. Things like that carry over and we put the work in.”