ATLANTA — Darren Waller hasn't played in Atlanta in six years. Life and football have rerouted him to different cities, other stadiums, away from the place that raised him. But some places just feel like home.

It began Saturday night, when the Panthers drove into the city, and it really hit the veteran tight end that he hasn't played football here in six years. That is a blip in the scope of a lifetime, but forever when considering this is the place that taught him the game.

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"I was reflecting on that over last night and this morning," mused Waller, following his two-touchdown day in the Panthers 34-3 blowout of the Falcons.

"It's like, I'm 34. I started playing football when I was 4, about 25, 30 minutes from this stadium: Noonday Park. I played for the Blackwell Bears when I was 4 years old. That's where I started, and I played college football at Georgia Tech.

"My high school coach from North Cobb was right behind the bench. Shout-out to Shane Queen, and his son Tyler is a coach too. They were right behind the bench."

Waller initially retired from the sport after the 2023 season. He took 2024 off, and midway through the summer of 2025, he realized he still had a lot more in the tank. He made a comeback, signing with the Miami Dolphins and scoring six touchdowns in nine games. But he wasn't preparing all offseason to play, and injuries hampered him throughout the season. So this year, he worked out all offseason, signing with the Panthers in training camp.

And that brought him back here, to Atlanta, where for years, he played his best ball.

"Riding the bus here from the hotel, it's like I remember being there with friends," he said, miming pointing to a building on the drive. "I remember the girl I used to date; we used to go to church there, just all these kinds of memories.

As a true Atlanta native, he also dreamed of returning to the Holy Land, Waffle House, for his standard order: "Sausage, egg and cheese, hash brown bowl, and depending on what kind of mood I'm in, either a double waffle or sometimes a single waffle."

But time didn't allow. That was fine. It wasn't the reason he was here.

"Just soaking those things up and being like, it's just cool to be here no matter what happens. Just be grateful."

He may have relished the simple opportunity to play back at home in front of friends, family, and a two-and-a-half-year-old nephew who got to watch Uncle Darren play football in person for the first time on Sunday. But the Panthers signed him to do what he does best: score touchdowns. And after getting his first of the season negated by a penalty in Week 1, he made up for it with a vengeance in Week 2.

"Just the ability to take advantage of matchups with safeties with linebackers, that's exactly the type of impact that he can have on this offense," said coach Dave Canales after the win.  "Then it opens other things up, and we got all these other beautiful players sitting on the other side of the field as well to be able to distribute it and create a little bit more balance in our pass game.

"He's very decisive, a veteran player, so he understands leverage, and he and Bryce Young have spent a lot of time just kind of working on those things on Fridays before and after our team drills just to talk through, when I have this leverage, this is what it's going to look like. That's a great part of having a veteran guy like Darren and, of course, the size and speed.

"Once he set his foot on the ground on his second touchdown, Bryce knew and just threw it early. When a player is decisive, it gives the quarterback a lot of confidence to just let it rip."

That second touchdown put the Panthers up 27-3 midway through the third quarter and felt like the final nail in the coffin for the Falcons. Waller ran to the stands and handed the ball to a Panthers fan, honoring a time-honored Carolina tradition. He would know, having played in the NFL since the days of Cam Newton and Greg Olsen.

Waller wears the same number as the latter and became the first Panthers tight end since Olsen (Sept. 22, 2019) to score two touchdowns in a game.

When Waller took the No. 88 jersey ahead of the regular season, he knew it came with immense responsibility. After years of watching Olsen, dating back to when Waller switched to tight end in 2016, he was ready to honor one of the greatest.

"I fully understood that when I chose the number," said Waller. "When I first got moved to tight end, Greg was in the top three guys of film that I was watching.

"He's a super cool, very giving with knowledge, and just a nice guy. Wearing that number, I think you take into account what that means to the Panthers, the organization, and the fans. I know choosing that is something to be represented in the right way and played at a high level."

As media surrounded Waller in the postgame locker room, his fellow tight ends couldn't help but poke fun.

"Yeah, OG," shouted Mitchell Evans. "Let's go Unc!"

With an 11-year age difference, Waller understands why younger guys like Evans and Ja'Tavion Sanders laugh at his super-veteran status.

"Mitch and JT were born in like'04," laughed Waller. "2004, I was in middle school! I was on the North Cobb Junior Warriors middle school team at Barber Middle School."

Because Darren Waller has been doing this a long time, and he's been doing it even longer in Atlanta. So perhaps he was destined to have this day, pulling in two touchdowns as he is apt to do in the red zone, here in this city where it started, with the team that gave him another chance.

"So," he shrugged, "it's just all these full-circle moments."