Raiders’ Darren Waller learning to deal with increased attention

ALAMEDA, Calif. — A little extra attention never hurt anyone.

Raiders tight end Darren Waller, however, concedes he quickly grew frustrated with being the main focus of every opponent’s defensive game plan after a historic start to this season.

“They always try to put their best safety on him, and we’ve seen corners on him at times,” offensive coordinator Greg Olson said. “We’ve seen teams try to double him at the line to affect his release. We expected that, and we’ll continue to see it, I’m sure.”

The 27-year-old breakout star understands it’s his new reality.

“It’s a little (flattering), I guess,” he said after practice Wednesday at the team’s facility. “But if I continue to look at it like that and accept it, I’m not going to be able to keep getting better. I have to improve and figure out how to beat it. If it’s always going to be thrown at me, I still have to find a way if I want to become the player I want to be.”

The goal is to be the best tight end in the league. Waller certainly looked the part in the first half of the season. Pro Football Focus has him as the sixth-best in the league at his position this season.

He was averaging 7.33 receptions through the first six games and earned a three-year contract extension worth $9 million per season.

Teams have made a conscious effort to shut him down in recent weeks, limiting Waller to just three catches per game over the last five.

During those first six games, Waller reeled in the 44 receptions on just 50 targets. He’s had 15 catches on 28 targets in the last five.

“It’s not real hard to disrupt the tight end on the line of scrimmage or play zone coverage or do something to try to slow him down,” coach Jon Gruden said. “But he’s still statistically getting things done and making a big impact on the game.”

Much of that impact is opening things up for his teammates. Quarterback Derek Carr still wants to get the ball to Waller as much as possible. But he knows other receivers will be open if teams want to continue putting so much focus on Waller.

“I think a lot of our production has come from people trying to double- and triple-team him,” Carr said. “(Defenses) play things a little bit different against Waller. So there are different ways to get him involved. But I will say if teams do want to put two guys on him, that does open the door for somebody else. Now, if they don’t want to do that, then we definitely have all the trust in the world that Darren will make plays.”

Waller understands all of that now. It wasn’t an easy mental adjustment.

“At first, there was some frustration,” he said. “Then I realized if it’s not going to change, I have to change my attitude about it.”

That started with understanding that sometimes a positive play is to occupy some of that attention the defense is giving him.

“You want to win every rep, but they’re funneling you into certain zones and it’s just like, ‘OK, I’m not winning this route and if the quarterback is to throw it to me, I’m not open,’ ” he said. “That’s frustrating for me because I want to be open all the time. But when new challenges come, you have to be OK with it and accept it and get better. It was frustrating at first and it still can be at times, but I feel like my approach is getting better.”

Now the next step for Waller is attracting that attention and still finding a way to beat it. He believes he’s making progress in that area, too.

Waller said he has greatly improved his releases off the line of scrimmage and perhaps,more importantly, sharpened his skills at seeing exactly where defenders are and where the help is coming from each play.

“Before I was just kind of running to spots. There’s things you can do. Are you going to win every time and get the result you want every time? No. But spots will open up where you will beat that coverage or there will be times where you make a move and turn it into a one-on-one matchup. … It’s improved a lot.”

Now if the defenses start paying even more attention to him. Waller insists he’s ready.

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Contact Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AdamHillLVRJ on Twitter.