"Y" Raiders TE Darren Waller should be rewarded with a $12-14M APY new money deal
The Las Vegas Raiders just signed slot machine WR Hunter Renfrow to a two-year, $32M deal. Something I predicted would happen sooner rather than later while putting his valuation vs. evaluation at roughly $15M APY, Renfrow received just that.
Now the focus has quickly shifted to another receiver. This time--TE Darren Waller.
Waller is under contract for the next two seasons--the problem is that he's outplayed that contract. Scheduled to be a UFA in 2024, Waller is seeking to be a top-10 paid TE.
Currently, Waller is the 17th highest-paid TE in terms of both APY ($7.6M) & Guaranteed Money ($16.5M). That clearly needs to change. Something I talked about on my facebook page for our Aloha kickoff question, the verdict is out whether he will get that deal in Las Vegas. You can follow us below:
Waller seeks new deal
On Tuesday, Waller took the podium as mandatory minicamp began and was asked by Vegas Nation reporter Vinny Bonsignore about his current contract situation.
Waller responded:
“Whether I’m here 10 years or who knows how long, just being present here. And my agent’s job is to do that stuff and I just focus on the football part.
Because if I don’t focus on football and your mind’s elsewhere--you gotta be locked-in as a professional, I just try to be a professional every day.”
If you're his agent, you go straight to the numbers when discussing his numbers (no-pun intended).
Since becoming the entrenched starter over the past three seasons, Waller has racked up:
252 catches | 3,006 receiving yards | 11.9 avg. | 14 TDs
Over that same time span, the third-highest paid TE Dallas Goedert has recorded:
160 catches | 1,961 receiving yards | 12.2 avg. | 12 TDs
The fourth-highest paid TE Mark Andrews has registered:
229 catches | 2,914 receiving yards | 12.7 avg. | 26 TDs
The fifth-highest paid TE David Njoku was the worst of the bunch:
60 catches | 729 receiving yards | 12.2 avg. | 7 TDs
Valuation vs. Evaluation
In predicting the future numbers for Waller, I believe he will get paid somewhere in the ballpark of $12-14M APY which would place him in Patriots TE Jonnu Smith, TE Hunter Henry and Browns TE David Njoku company--right above Dolphins TE Mike Gesicki.
For kicks & giggles, let's just breakdown their respective numbers for the sake of my analysis.
Gesicki recorded:
177 catches | 2,053 yards | 11.6 avg. | 13 TDs
Smith registered:
104 catches | 1,181 yards | 11.4 avg. | 12 TDs
Henry racked up:
165 catches | 1,868 yards | 11.3 avg. | 18 TDs
If you take all those numbers from those higher paid TEs--this is where Waller ranks over that 3-year span:
1st in catches | 252
1st in receiving yards | 3,006
3rd in TD receptions | 14
For those wondering who the top two highest-paid tight ends are:
TE George Kittle | $15M APY
TE Travis Kelce | $14.3M APY
I’m in many of the facebook groups and have a strong pulse of the Raider Nation when it comes to their team. Some say the player should play out his contract while others say a new money deal is earned.
In the end, I'm fairly confident a long-term deal will be reached. Waller's character, team leader, and Raider Way mentality alongside Pro Bowl intentions year-in-and-year-out will be something Coach McDaniels will lean on and a BIG reason Y (tight-end) Waller will remain in the Silver & Black long-term.
What are your thoughts, DOB fam? Start the discussion and drop those comments below…