Raiders Pushed to Trade for TE With Similar Athletic Traits to Darren Waller

Heading into the season, tight end was a position of strength for the Las Vegas Raiders but injuries are starting to take a toll. Foster Moreau has missed two straight games due to injury and Darren Waller was forced to leave the Week 5 game against the Kansas City Chiefs in the first half due to a hamstring injury. He did not return to the game.

With neither Waller nor Moreau going on the Injured Reserve yet, they could be back ready to play after the bye week but the Raiders may want to add a fourth tight end to the roster just in case. In his weekly power rankings for The Atheltic, Bo Wulf suggested that Las Vegas explore a trade for Denver Broncos tight end Albert Okwuegbunam:

There are no moral victories in the record book, but that was as impressive a loss as a team has had all season, as the Raiders nearly stole a win in Arrowhead and probably should have if the rule book made a little more sense. Alas, Las Vegas has to lick its wounds over the bye week knowing 11 of the 156 teams to start a season 1-4 since 1990 have gone on to make the playoffs, the most recent being Washington in 2020. The Raiders won’t have the benefit of playing in a historically weak division, but a wild-card spot doesn’t seem all that impossible given the jumbled mess of two to three teams. With Darren Waller leaving the Monday night game with a hamstring injury, maybe the Raiders could use an athlete at the tight end position. This would be a rare intra-division trade, but Okwuegbunam appears to be fourth on the Broncos’ tight end depth chart at the moment.

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Okwuegbunam Has Similar Athletic Traits to Waller

Okwuegbunam was a fourth-round pick of the Broncos in 2020 but has yet to make much of an impact. He had a solid year last season with 33 catches for 330 yards and two touchdowns. He hasn’t seen the same success with Russell Wilson at quarterback. In five games, he has seven catches for 50 yards.

While Okwuegbunam hasn’t proven to be an impact tight end yet, he’s brimming with potential. In fact, he’s very similar to Waller in a lot of ways. He’s 6-foot-5 and 258 pounds but runs a 4.49 40-yard dash. Waller is 6-foot-6, 255 pounds and runs a 4.46 40-yard dash. Not much was thought of Waller when he was signed by the Raiders but now he’s considered one of the best tight ends in the NFL. Perhaps the team could have similar luck if they take a chance on Okwuegbunam.

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Raiders Not Overly Concerned With Waller’s Injury

The Raiders handed Waller a $51 million contract extension this offseason, which made him one of the highest-paid tight ends in the league. He’s had a season to forget thus far and only has 16 catches for 175 yards in five games, and now he’s injured. Luckily, it doesn’t appear that there’s concern about his injury, according to head coach Josh McDaniels.

“Nothing at this point. I don’t think it is super significant,” McDaniels said after Monday’s loss. “It was just enough to keep him out the rest of the game.”

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