Las Vegas Raiders talent Darren Waller has evolved into one of the premier tight ends in the NFL in recent seasons and the New England Patriots are the next team to be tasked with slowing him down. Ahead of New England's matchup with the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 3, the Patriots heaped praise on Waller.

“I think it’s been such a long time since we’ve seen a guy like this,” Belichick told reporters. “He’s really got great receiver skills, played receiver. He’s got a lot of length like a big receiver does, but he’s got very good quickness and he blocks very competitively. He’s not afraid to mix it up. So he’s definitely more than a receiver playing tight end, but he’s got all the skills that can come inside. He’s a very good inside receiver, which sometimes the wideouts have trouble making that move in there. He’s really been impressive to watch.

Waller is coming off of his Week 2 contest against the New Orleans Saints where he caught 12 passes for 105 yards and a touchdown. Devin McCourty, a longtime safety of the Patriots, understands the challenge that New England's defense faces in stopping Waller.

“He brings every challenge you can think of,” McCourty said. “It’s covering him, it’s tackling him, it’s knowing where he is in their offense, how they might use him. They use him so many different ways, you’re not going to get a true bead on it.”

Unlike most tight ends, the Raiders basically use Waller as another wide receiver in their offense. The only difference between Waller and wide receivers is that he's listed at 6-foot-6 and nearly 260 pounds.

While the Patriots know it won't be easy to hold the pass-catching tight end in check, J.C. Jackson said New England will have a gameplan in place for him.

“He’s good,” cornerback J.C. Jackson told reporters this week, via the Boston Herald. “We’ve got something for him this weekend.”

The Patriots have a slew of defensive backs that could see some time in coverage versus Waller on Sunday. Still, it's obvious that Bill Belichick and New England are doing everything they can to make sure Waller doesn't single-handedly beat them.