Giants fans have spent long enough nursing the Darren Waller grudge. Isaiah Likely is making it a lot easier to move on.
Waller was one of the biggest swings of the Brian Daboll era, and it never came close to paying off in New York. He managed only one touchdown in 11 games for the Giants before retiring, then un-retiring about 18 months later. That kind of return is hard to spin, and it still stands as one of the rougher trades the team has made in recent memory.
But the parting of ways has aged better for both sides. Waller is back doing what he does best as a red-zone threat, while the Giants have landed a tight end who looks like the answer they were searching for.
The 34-year-old spent last season in Miami, where he caught six touchdowns in nine games, then signed with the Carolina Panthers during training camp. He’s wasted little time becoming a reliable target for Bryce Young near the goal line.
In Carolina’s 34-3 win over the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday, Waller caught three passes for 33 yards and two touchdowns. He also would have scored on the Panthers’ first drive of the season opener, but that one was wiped out by an offensive pass interference call against him.
He’s on pace for 510 yards this season, which is hardly eye-popping, but the touchdown production is there again. It just never showed up in New York the way the Giants hoped.
Likely, though, has given them exactly what they needed. After signing a three-year, $40 million deal in free agency, he has been worth every penny so far. He was the key piece in the Giants’ 1-0 start after a two-touchdown game against the Cowboys, and he’s already looking like the kind of tight end who can carry a real role in the passing game.
Through the early part of the season, Likely is fifth among tight ends in receiving yards behind Dalton Kincaid, Travis Kelce, Trey McBride, and Juwan Johnson. His two touchdowns are tied for the most at the position, alongside Waller and several others. With Mark Andrews no longer in the picture, he’s showing he can be a quality TE1.
The 26-year-old never topped 500 receiving yards in four seasons with John Harbaugh in Baltimore, but the talent was always visible. And with one of the weaker receiver rooms in the NFL around him, he’s been the second option in the passing game behind Malik Nabers.
The Giants needed to fix the tight end spot after the Waller miss, and they started that process with Theo Johnson before eventually landing on Likely. So far, that’s looked like the right path. Waller is back in the end zone, Likely is producing in New York, and the old resentment doesn’t need to hang around much longer.
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Jaxson Dart Gave Giants Fans One Reason To Smile This Week
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Even with the long recovery ahead, there was at least one encouraging note for Giants fans to hang onto: Harbaugh said Dart has a slim chance to return if the team reaches the playoffs. It is hardly the kind of news anyone wanted to be discussing after the injury, but in a season suddenly without its young quarterback, even a small opening can feel meaningful. [Read more 🡒]