Raiders' Jon Gruden Says Darren Waller '1 of the Best Players I've Ever Seen'

Not much has gone right for the Las Vegas Raiders down the stretch this season, but Darren Waller continues to prove he's a superstar who belongs in the conversation of the NFL's best tight ends.

In fact, Raiders head coach Jon Gruden told NBC Sports' Peter King, "He's one of the best players I've ever seen play football."

Most of the conversations about the best tight end this season start and stop with Travis Kelce of the Kansas City Chiefs. After all, the 31-year-old broke the record for receiving yards by a tight end Sunday against the Atlanta Falcons, and he leads the league with 1,416 yards on 105 receptions.

He also has Patrick Mahomes throwing him the ball in an explosive offense.

Waller, meanwhile, had a total of 178 yards and 18 receptions in 22 games from 2015-18. He was originally drafted by the Baltimore Ravens but had substance-abuse issues that resulted in him being suspended for the entire 2017 season.

The NFL approved Waller's application for reinstatement in August 2018.

On an episode of Hard Knocks in August 2019 (h/t Sports Illustrated's Kalyn Kahler), Waller said he was "plotting to sabotage my way out of the league so I didn't look like a quitter" during his time with the Ravens.

The Raiders signed Waller off Baltimore's practice squad in November 2018, and he was a breakout star last year with 1,145 yards receiving on 90 catches with three TDs.

He has been even better this season with 1,079 yards and eight touchdowns on 98 catches. He also became the fourth tight end ever to have at least 200 receiving yards and two TDs in a game when he hit that mark in the Raiders' 31-28 win over the New York Jets on Dec. 6.