Imagine Tua Tagovailoa throwing to Tyreek Hill, Jaylen Waddle ... and Darren Waller? | Habib
Every now and then there are NFL trades, and possible trades, that make you go “hmm.” This week’s edition was that the Dolphins attempted to land Las Vegas Raiders tight end Darren Waller last year, according to Waller’s agent, Drew Rosenhaus.
First, let’s state the obvious: Waller is one of the best tight ends in the NFL, a guy who presents nightmare mismatches for coordinators.
To picture him slicing through a secondary already dealing with Jaylen Waddle would warm the heart of any quarterback. Dolphins fans need only think back to 2020, when Waller put up 112 yards against Miami, which turned out to be the fewest of his four 100-yard performances in a five-week span.
Rosenhaus, speaking on Pat McAfee’s show (must have been Aaron Rodgers’ day off), said the Dolphins and Packers were interested in Waller but didn’t specify when. Odds are it was before March 23, 2022. That’s when Miami pulled off another blockbuster deal, landing Tyreek Hill from the Chiefs. But in an era in which the salary cap can feel like Monopoly money, there’s even a chance it was with the idea of having Hill, Waddle and Waller flooding defenses.
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Regardless, the plan couldn’t have included Mike Gesicki, which is where this gets curious.
If the Dolphins wanted to move on from Gesicki because of his blocking deficiencies (they absolutely did), why turn to Waller, who has similar strengths? You can say Waller is better. He has two 1,000-yard seasons and Gesicki doesn’t. He has a Pro Bowl to his name and Gesicki doesn’t. But if I were to say Gesicki is Waller Light, your comeback would be … what?
When Mike McDaniel was with the 49ers, he had George Kittle. Kittle’s run-blocking grade last year, according to Pro Football Focus, was 69.5 — just behind the Ravens’ Mark Andrews (79.4) among elite tight ends. The Bears’ Cole Kmet was at 65.1 and the Chiefs’ Travis Kelce was at 61.2. Miami’s Durham Smythe rated a 64.2, which explains why he played almost 200 more snaps than Gesicki.
Where does that leave Waller? Not on the dean’s list. He rated a 49.3 in run blocking, better than Gesicki’s 42.8 but not by much.
It wasn’t as if 2023 was an aberration. Gesicki was coming off a 2021 season in which his blocking (46.1) was actually better than Waller’s (43.5), at least in the eyes of PFF. The best grade Waller earned for his blocking was a 58.2, comparable to Gesicki's: 52.8.
Give Darren Waller and Mike Gesicki respect they've earned
Both players have heard disparaging, unfair remarks that they’re receivers/slot guys masquerading as tight ends. Waller is 6-feet-6, 255, to Gesicki’s 6-6, 247, but both can run, both can catch and both can burn linebackers. Call them whatever you like; just respect their talent.
You can’t help but root for Waller. He was three seasons into his NFL career, with Baltimore and then the Oakland Raiders, when he could point to 10 catches for 85 yards as the best year of his career. Then, boom. In 2019, he had 90 receptions for 1,145 yards and never looked back.
What changed? After serving a suspension for violating the league’s substance abuse policy, he overcame drug and alcohol addiction, dedicated himself to his game and became the highest-paid tight end in the league.
Now Waller finds himself with the New York Giants, who dealt a third-round pick for him. Brian Daboll will know what to do.
The Dolphins, meanwhile, “settled” on another Rosenhaus client and made Hill a rich man, too. They watched Hill smash records with an All-Pro season as Waddle continued his ascension.
We may never know if the idea was Waller instead of Hill or Waller and Hill. That's not the craziest idea. The Dolphins pursued, and landed, Hill despite either having tagged (or preparing to tag) Gesicki for $10.9 million guaranteed. That money is close to what Waller received last season, hence the possibility of swapping Waller for Gesicki. The Dolphins then could have tagged Waller for 2023 while doing belt-tightening elsewhere to make the cap work.
Hey, we’ll never know how (if?) Waller could fit in McDaniel’s system when Gesicki couldn’t.
We just know what could have happened didn’t, but things turned out all right anyway.
Dolphins reporter Hal Habib can be reached at hhabib@pbpost.com and followed on Twitter @gunnerhal.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Were Dolphins plotting to pair Tua with Tyreek, Waddle and Waller?
