New York Giants OTAs Defined By Waller’s Presence, Barkley’s Absence

For the New York Giants at Organized Team Activities (OTAs) this week, both newcomers like tight end Darren Waller and rookies across the board have helped to provide the 2023 New York Giants with a sense of optimism heading into the summer months.

This is deflated, but only marginally, by the absence of Saquon Barkley. The team’s star running back remains at odds with the team over his contract status, weeks after New York put a franchise tag on him. While no one expects his absence to carry over into things like mandatory activities, let alone the season itself, it meant that head coach Brian Daboll and the other participants in OTAs deflected Barkley questions, rather than being able to see him play with other Giants and begin the process of putting the offense together.

In typical Daboll fashion, however, he’s already constructed an on-ramp for what a post-resolution reunion with Barkley would look like, emotionally, even as he steadfastly avoided any contract-specific questions from the media on Thursday.

“I think you build relationships with people in the business,” Daboll said. “There’s always a business sighted of things in this league and again, those conversations will remain private, but the guys on the team that you have, everybody goes through it at some point, and you just build on relationships and keep discussions private between yourself and the players.”

Similarly, quarterback Daniel Jones, his own contract status now resolved, said that he speaks to Barkley regularly, but would let the team and Barkley sort out his worth.

“That’s obviously Saquon’s business,” Jones said Thursday. “That’s been him and the team. Obviously, Saquon is a close friend of mine, and he’s been a very important part of what we’ve done here, and he’s a tremendous part of this offense. I hope they can get something done. That’s between them.”

Instead, Jones focused on finding a connection with his shiniest new offensive toy, tight end Darren Waller, who promises to be a different kind of threat for the Giants at the position than they’ve had in recent years. In 2022, Daniel Bellinger led the Giants with 30 catches at tight end. Waller caught only 28 passes, but he did so in nine games, his 2022 season with Las Vegas limited by injuries.

“I think it feels like you hear about most guys or you see them in the program and they’re listed at 6’6″, and they’re really like 6’4″ or 6’5″,” Jones said of Waller. “He’s a true 6’6″. He’s a true 250, 260, and can fly, can run, can run all the routes. He’s just an impressive athlete. He’s just been locked in. You can tell it’s important to him. He’s put a lot of effort into learning the stuff and getting caught up. It’s been fun working with him.”

Waller was similarly effusive on everything from how the Giants are treating him to the work ethic, even the sense of humor, of Jones. And OTAs provided him early insight into the offense and the way he’ll fit into it.

“What I love most about it is the challenge,” Waller said. “It requires you to know everything that’s going on on the field, not just have yourself fixed in one spot, like you need to know the whole picture of the offense. Why the quarterback’s looking in a certain direction, why you need to be in a certain window at a certain time. It forces you to move fast, think fast, and I love challenges.”

For Waller, known throughout the league as a high-IQ player (no surprise for a man married to the brainy WNBA guard Kelsey Plum), the process of thinking through what he can do for the 2023 Giants already began before he even took the practice field this week.

“I like to make sure that I’m meditating and putting a lot of thought into why I do certain things on the field, why I do certain things off the field, and making sure that I’m providing value in the fact that the Giants get somebody that’s going to make their team better in whatever way they ask them to do. That’s why I try to make sure I’m on top of that.”

With Daboll, Jones and Waller on the case, fitting Barkley back in whenever his contract resolution comes should be fairly simple.