Photo: U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Jordan McCoy, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons²

Darren Waller

Tight End, Carolina Panthers · #88.

Player facts

Team: Carolina Panthers
Position: Tight End
Number: 88
Born: Sep 13, 1992 (age 34)
Birthplace: Acworth, GA, USA
Height: 6' 6"
Weight: 245 lbs
College: Georgia Tech
Experience: 9 seasons
Status: Active

Stats

2026 Offense

	REC	TGTS	YDS	AVG	TD	LNG	FD	CAR	YDS	AVG	TD	LNG	FUM	LST
Regular Season	13	19	148	11.4	2	17	11	0	0	0.0	0	0	0	0
Career	387	554	4,555	11.8	28	75	238	4	30	7.5	0	21	3	3

Advanced stats

2026 season through week 6. EPA per play is the points a play added to the team’s expected score; success rate is the share of plays that kept the offense on schedule; CPOE is completion percentage over what the throws’ difficulty predicted. Rank is by EPA per play.

	Plays	EPA/play	Success	CPOE	League rank
Receiving	21 targets	+0.27	52%		fewer than 24 plays

NFL data: nflverse, CC BY 4.0.

Recent games

			Receiving							Rushing					Fumbles
Date	Opponent	Result	REC	TGTS	YDS	AVG	TD	LNG	FD	CAR	YDS	AVG	TD	LNG	FUM	LST
Sun, Oct 4	vs DET	W 32-26	3	6	36	12.0	0	16	3	0	0	0.0	0	0	0	0
Sun, Sep 27	@ CLE	L 21-18	5	8	51	10.2	0	14	3	0	0	0.0	0	0	0	0
Sun, Sep 20	@ ATL	W 34-3	3	3	33	11.0	2	14	3	0	0	0.0	0	0	0	0
Sun, Sep 13	vs CHI	L 59-37	2	2	28	14.0	0	17	2	0	0	0.0	0	0	0	0

Last 4 games. Click a game for its box score.

About

Darren Charles Waller (born September 13, 1992) is an American professional football tight end for the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets and was selected by the Baltimore Ravens in the sixth round of the 2015 NFL draft.

From Wikipedia’s article on Darren Waller, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.¹

Background

Early life

Darren Waller was born in Landover, Maryland, to Dorian and Charlena Waller. He has a sister, Deanna. His great-grandfather was jazz pianist Fats Waller. He was raised in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and Acworth, Georgia. He produces hip-hop music in his spare time.

College career

Waller attended and played college football at Georgia Tech as a wide receiver where he redshirted his freshman season of 2011 and forwent his final year of eligibility by entering the 2015 NFL draft.

Personal life

Waller began abusing oxycodone at 15 years old and drinking alcohol at 16 years old. His oxycodone addiction escalated to the point that he was eventually spending $100 per day on pills. Later in life, he began using "a lot of" cocaine. On August 11, 2017, in Maryland, he overdosed on pills while sitting in his parked Jeep. After spending 34 days in a substance abuse rehabilitation program in Camden, Maine, he took a job stocking shelves at a Sprouts Farmers Market.

Waller founded the Darren Waller Foundation in 2020 to "equip youth to avoid and overcome addiction to drugs and alcohol and support youth and their families during their recovery and treatment journey."

On March 4, 2023, Waller married Las Vegas Aces point guard Kelsey Plum. Waller and Plum divorced in 2024.

In 2024, Waller released an original song, "Who Knew".

From Wikipedia’s article on Darren Waller, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the full article.¹