Darren Waller missed the entire Miami Dolphins offseason, but he managed to practice for the first time as the team headed into Week 4. In a pleasant surprise given the mysterious nature of his injury, Waller immediately made an impact.
Waller was nearly perfect on Monday night in his first action of the season. As the second quarter got underway, the Dolphins' offseason trade addition made the impact fans had been expecting since he arrived.
Waller only caught three passes in the Dolphins' 27-21 win over the Jets, but two of them went for touchdowns. He added an unofficial fourth catch when he recovered the onside kick near the end of regulation to keep the Jets offense on the sidelines.
Darren Waller shows no sign of rust in Dolphins debut on Monday night.
The Dolphins are not back - not yet - but a favorable schedule awaits them. With Tyreek Hill's 2025 future in doubt, Waller is going to take on a bigger role this season.
The Waller saga was a huge water cooler topic this offseason, but the only one who didn't give up was Mike McDaniel, and he made sure everyone knew it against the Jets. The question now becomes how much more he can offer the Dolphins' offense?
After the game, Waller said that the route he ran was the same one he ran when he caught his first career touchdown. He also said that he was close to being ready to play in Week 3, but the short week made it more difficult. He said he needed the practice work before he played. The extended time between last Thursday and Monday night proved to be the difference.
Waller was a huge bright spot against the Jets. The Dolphins' offense took a massive hit when Tyreek Hill went down, but Waller quickly showed that he can pick up the slack, even if he's maybe not capable of carrying an offense at this stage in his career.
"I knew he was fully capable. I just didn't want to overcook it," McDaniel said.
McDaniel did keep his word that Waller would be on a pitch count in his first game, but that will change against the Carolina Panthers in Week 5. With Hill out, Waller could play a big role in this offense.