FANTASY FOOTBALL NEWS

Darren Waller Unretires After Trade to the Dolphins

By Shane Hallam | Updated on Tue, Jul 1 2025 3:36 PM UTC

Giants TE Darren Waller retired after the 2023 season, but has returned after a trade to the Dolphins. After trading TE Jonnu Smith to the Steelers yesterday, the Dolphins left themselves a huge hole at the position. They potentially fill that with Waller, though he will compete with Pharaoh Brown and Julian Hill for snaps. Don't expect Waller to be anything more than a late round flier in fantasy drafts.

What They're Saying

Adam Schefter of ESPN: "Trade: Dolphins are trading a conditional 2026 sixth to the New York Giants for a 2027 seventh-round pick and Darren Waller.

Waller is coming out of retirement after agreeing to a one-year deal with the Dolphins worth up to $5 million, per Drew Rosenhaus and Robert Bailey."

2025 Fantasy Football Impact

Waller's potential rust and age make him an unattractive TE option, especially on a team that has shown a propensity for excluding TEs in the offense.

Under HC Mike McDaniels, here have been the TE target distributions:

2022: 13.3%
2023: 9.5%
2024: 26.6%

Expect the team to go back to 22/23 levels of target share for the TEs, and that will likely be split by Waller, Brown and Hill.

Don't expect much weekly fantasy impact for Waller.

Dynasty Impact

Turning 33 in September, Waller has very little dynasty value and likely won't play beyond this season.

Shane Hallam, Writer

Shane has over 20 years of experience creating content and playing every fantasy football format, including redraft, dynasty, devy, C2C, IDP, CFF, and more. He is a multi-year winner of $500 dynasty leagues on the FFPC and a King's Classic Champion. Shane utilizes deep film and scheme study to enhance his fantasy performance. He led the industry in 2024 preseason Kicker Rankings and ranked second in preseason QB Rankings. He also ranked eighth in preseason IDP rankings.