In The Blitz, RotoViz writers react to the latest news and help you place it within the context of our 2020 research and recommendations.
Every year that goes by, I am more and more tempted to pay up at the tight end position, lock in an elite option for every week, and never have to worry about it again. Last season, if you owned Travis Kelce, Darren Waller, or George Kittle, you never had to worry about your tight end position. They were matchup-proof stars who all topped 1,000 receiving yards. This season, Waller is once again cementing himself as one of the elites after a career Week 13 performance.
Las Vegas Raiders tight end Darren Waller exploded in a Week 13 victory against the Jets with 13 catches on 17 targets for 200 yards and two touchdowns. It was reasonable to expect Waller to rebound after last week’s lackluster performance, but fantasy owners have to be thrilled with this type of outing. This was the most targets, yards, and tied for the most receptions that Waller has had in his five-year career. He now has 77 receptions on the year, which is about 6.5 per game. Fantasy owners cannot expect Waller to put up this type of performance again next week against the Colts, but he continues to show why he is a must-start option every week.
Converted Tight End Turned Superstar
I often forget that Waller played at the wide receiver position in college and even tested at the combine as a wide receiver before ultimately switching to tight end. One of my favorite stats for Waller comes courtesy of the RotoViz Freak Score Calculator. If you’ve never heard of it before, here’s a quick description, “Freak Score is a simple way to succinctly describe the mix of size and speed that a WR has.” Since Waller tested as a wide receiver, he appears in this metric.
Regardless of his current position as a tight end, it’s pretty awesome to see his name up there with Calvin Johnson and D.K. Metcalf. Both Johnson and Metcalf are physical specimens who dominate(d) the game differently than everyone else. Waller has that same impact over the middle of the field and has been a target-hog over the past season and a half.
