Giants TE Darren Waller talks up QB Daniel Jones

New York Giants tight end Darren Waller sounds excited to catch passes thrown by quarterback Daniel Jones when the games begin to matter in September. 

"It’s a relationship that’s gelling," Waller said Friday about his chemistry with Jones, per Robert Sanchez of SNY. "We’ve got a few months under our belt, staying in touch, open dialogue, ego removed. We can tell each other what we’re thinking, what he may want, things I’ve been comfortable doing, things I like doing, and find a midpoint or just be able to learn about each other, so I feel like it’s paying off. Just try to keep it going day by day and let the results take care of themselves." 

It was learned on March 7 that the Giants and Jones agreed to a four-year contract that could be worth up to $160M with $82M guaranteed and an additional $35M in incentives. Roughly one week later, the Giants officially landed Waller via a trade with the Las Vegas Raiders, and the 30-year-old is expected to serve as Jones' primary target when New York opens the upcoming regular season with a home game versus the division-rival Dallas Cowboys on Sept. 10. 

Waller is happy to assist his new QB1 in any way possible. 

"[I’m] coming in with a mindset of I don’t want to be limited in any part of my game," Waller explained. "Whatever they want to line me up and run at, I want to be able to do that and be effective at it… I want to be able to do everything and present myself as a viable option to the quarterback every time I run a route." 

Availability may prove to be Waller's most important ability as it pertains to the 2023 Giants. Injuries limited the one-time Pro Bowl selection to just 20 regular-season games over his final two campaigns with the Raiders, and he recorded 28 catches for 388 yards and three touchdowns across nine contests this past season. 

More recently, Waller has been called "unguardable" during training camp practices by New York defensive players. While he acknowledged that's an "honor," such praise this summer will matter little if Jones' new favorite weapon is sidelined for a noteworthy stretch of time as the Giants attempt to complete back-to-back trips to the playoffs.