Getty Rob Gronkowski would have partnered Darren Waller for the New York Giants if Brian Daboll had gotten his way.
Brian Daboll almost created an all-time unstoppable duo for the New York Giants at tight end, but he couldn’t convince Rob Gronkowski to come out of retirement. Daboll wanted to pair the Gronk with Pro Bowler Darren Waller.
Speaking on the “Pardon My Take” podcast, Gronkowski revealed Daboll called him with the idea of joining Waller: “He was my position coach for three years here. I loved having him as my position coach, man, he was just a great guy. Great attitude, brought the juice to the table every single time, but I mean he knew it was kind of like a home run. We talk every once in a while and he’s like, ‘yo, come on, come out, come with us, you and Darren Waller, you guys would be a great duo.”
Gronkowski politely declined, but the Giants have to wonder what would have happened had Daboll been able to talk his former protege into another stint in the NFL. It would have meant pairing arguably the greatest in-line tight end in history alongside Waller, a premier “move” tight end able to strike from anywhere on the field.
The Giants never got to see how this double act would have transformed their passing game. Instead, Waller’s flashed only glimpses of his undoubted talent, while injury has struck again in his truncated career.
Rob Gronkowsi Would Have Dominated for Brian Daboll
Gronkowski’s rapport with Daboll remains strong. The former New England Patriots and Tampa Bay Buccaneers Super Bowl winner admitted back in August Daboll would be the most likely to get him out of retirement.
A reunion would make sense since Gronkowski posted two of his four most productive seasons under Daboll’s tutelage. The Gronk tallied 1,124 yards in 2014 and 1,176 a year later.
Gronkowski became a frequent visitor to the end zone during the 2015 campaign, per NFL Research.
Daboll knew what made Gronkowski effective. The coach knew when to have No. 87 stretch the middle of the field and when to split him out and isolate coverage. It’s the template the Giants had for Waller’s role.
Defenses would have needed to account for Gronk on every play in Daboll’s offense. That would have been tough to do with Waller sharing the same field.
Darren Waller Was Making the Grade Before Injury
It’s been a tough first season with the Giants for Waller, but timing hasn’t helped. Specifically, the timing of the hamstring problem that landed him on injured reserve on Saturday, November 4.
Waller was laid low shortly after his best game for Big Blue, a seven-catch, 98-yard effort against the Washington Commanders in Week 7. It was the only second time in eight games Waller made seven or more receptions in a single contest.
The lack of targets and catches forced Daboll to answer questions about Waller’s usage earlier in the season. Player and coach appeared to have turned the corner against Washington, but injury denied them the chance to build on the improvement.
Another chance should come soon, with “next week” a “realistic goal” for the Giants to reopen the practice window for Waller, according to ESPN’s Jordan Raanan.
The Darren Waller update: He’s “making progress” with the hamstring injury that has him on IR. Giants left open the possibility his 21-day window would be opened this week, but it seems more likely to not happen than anything.
Next week seems to be the realistic goal for…
Waller’s return is an opportunity for Daboll to build his offense around the talents of a multi-faceted tight end. The way he once did with Gronkowski.