“It’s pretty unbelievable,” Raiders tight end Darren Waller said of being named to the Pro Bowl Monday.
He may be the only person who is actually in disbelief over his Pro Bowl nod this season. After all, he is second in the league among receiving yards among tight ends behind only Travis Kelce who is second in the NFL at any position.
If anything, it was far more unbelievable when Waller didn’t make the squad after last season when he put up 1,145 yards receiving. He was an alternate, but due to offseason thumb surgery, he wasn’t able to accept the invitation when it came to him.
Waller’s disbelief is more about seeing his life now as opposed to what it was just a couple of years ago. When he was suspended for the entire 2017 season for repeated violations of the NFL’s substance-abuse policy and then stuck on the Ravens’ practice squad most of the 2018 season. To go from that to a no-brainer Pro Bowler is quite a leap.
“Honestly, I never really thought anything like this would happen,” Waller continued. “This was never my goal. I never really had big goals or anything. Just to be here is definitely a blessing. I’m speechless right now, reflecting on life and everything that I’ve been through. It’s an incredible experience and I appreciate the people and players and coaches who had a vote in considering me. I really appreciate them all respecting how I play.”
Waller’s off-the-field journey is well-known. But what doesn’t get discussed is his on-field journey. He was a wide receiver at Georgia Tech who was drafted in the sixth round. He then started just four games his first two NFL seasons. He had a lot of growing to do, both physically and mentally.
Last season he’d shown he was an elite match-up problem for defenses as a receiver. But there’s more to playing tight end than catching the ball.
“I think I’ve grown a lot,” Waller added. “There’s not any personnel groups where I would automatically come out of the game like last year. Like two back personnel I wouldn’t be in much, but this year I’m in there for blocking. I feel like my stats went up just because of that. Just developing toward being a great every-down tight end.”
As far as those receiving stats, his touchdowns are way up from last season. He has eight this year through 14 games and had three all last season. His catches are also up. He has 93 catches already after catching 90 passes all last season. And if he keeps up his pace from the past three games (141.7 yards per game) he will shatter his yards numbers from last season as well.
What should make Raiders fans excited is he still feels like he has more growing to do.
“I definitely feel like as long as I’ll be playing I’ll have to continue to grow and learn to deal with blocking and things like that because it just isn’t natural for me, but I feel like I’m getting there. That’s where I feel like my development is coming from.”
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