WR Jaylen Waddle, MIA (1 Viewer)

Biabreakable said:

Waddle does have that offensive weapon quality to him. Similar to Shenault or Patterson in that regard which makes me nervous about him honestly.

While special teams ability is a plus it doesnt give me a warm and fuzzy feeling about Waddles ability to perform as a traditional WR when many of his best plays are on returns.

Click to expand...

JohnnyU said:

If I wasn't already engaged to Javonte Williams I would ask Waddle to marry me.

Click to expand...

tangfoot said:

Have you considered becoming a Mormon?

Click to expand...

Adam Schefter @AdamSchefter

Najee Harris on teammate Jaylen Waddle: “He’s small but he’s dynamic. He’s explosive. Really really explosive. Closest thing to Tyreek Hill. You gotta see him in person, how he plays how he gets in and out of cuts, how he stops and goes 60 right away.”

Click to expand...

In his latest mock draft, NFL.com's Daniel Jeremiah projected the Arizona Cardinals to select Alabama WR Jaylen Waddle with the No. 16 pick.

Jeremiah refers to Waddle as a "big-time steal" if the wideout remains on the board to this point in the draft, but while we aren't going to argue the general value point, the value for the Cardinals (specifically) would be questionable at best. Such a pick would be a luxury pick with DeAndre Hopkins and AJ Green (among others) already on roster. Not just a luxury pick -- a luxury pick which plays directly into the Achilles Heel of Cards HC Kliff Kingsbury, who was notorious at Texas Tech for building explosive offenses without any kind of defense to back them up. And if Arizona does go offense on Day 1, their most pressing need on that side of the ball is an offensive lineman, anyway, not a receiver. 

SOURCE: NFL.com

Apr 6, 2021, 1:50 PM ET

Click to expand...

JohnnyU said:

Closest thing to Tyreek Hill in this draft.

Click to expand...

Pro Football Focus ranks Alabama WR Jaylen Waddle as the top yards after contact (YAC) wideout in this year's draft class. 

The 2021 NFL Draft projects to be loaded at the wide receiver position, and Waddle (5'10/182) ranks among the best overall. One area that he excels in is yards after contact as, according to Pro Football Focus, he averaged 10.1 yards per catch after the reception as a junior. Add to that his work as a return man, and the high-end speed, and the positives outweigh the concerns about his size. Waddle is projected to selected in the middle of the first round at the end of the month. 

SOURCE: Pro Football Focus

Apr 12, 2021, 6:33 PM ET

Click to expand...

Jeremy Fowler @JFowlerESPN

Jaylen Waddle is the third receiver off the board in a lot of mock drafts (fourth counting TE Kyle Pitts), but I've spoken to multiple NFL personnel evaluators who believe he might be the best overall playmaker in the draft. Not sure where he lands but he could surprise.

Click to expand...

Eric Galko @EricGalko

Waddle is WR1 for us (close, and he/Chase different types) and others in the NFL. 

I’d be surprised if he got out of the top 10 picks. Maybe not the top 7.

Click to expand...

NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reports that Alabama WR Jaylen Waddle (ankle) is on track in his rehab.

Waddle (5'10/182) sustained a dislocated ankle in the fall, but there is no concern that this will be any kind of a lingering issues after the speedster makes it to the pros. The wideout is adept at simply outrunning, well, everybody. Last year, we saw another Alabama lightning bolt drafted at pick No. 12 by the Raiders in Henry Ruggs. Speed is sexy and Waddle is very much a possibility to go right around where his former teammate went last spring.

SOURCE: Ian Rapoport on Twitter

Apr 14, 2021, 1:15 PM ET

Click to expand...

Jaylen Waddle didn't run the 40-yard dash at Alabama's Pro Day, as he was still not fully recovered from a fractured ankle.

But anyone who has ever watched a football game knows Waddle is different. Waddle is one of the fastest, most exciting receivers in recent college history.

But for a team like the Dolphins, holding the sixth overall pick, it sure would be nice to have a 40-yard dash time in the Waddle file. After all, that could be an important part of the comparison against players like Ja'Marr Chase and Kyle Pitts.

This is where GPS comes in.

For if Miami picks Waddle, which could be a minor upset considering the attention, focus, hype and ink spent on Chase, Pitts and Heisman winner DeVonta Smith, it will surely be after an evaluation of Alabama's performance-tracking, wearable technology data.

What was Waddle's peak game speed? What was Waddle's average game speed? To what extent did Waddle's average speed decrease from Quarter 1 to Quarter 4?

And what about practice? What were Waddle's mph's for Alabama practices?

"In talking to some teams around the league, Waddle had the fastest GPS of any receiver in the country,” said Daniel Jeremiah of NFL Network. “Your eyes aren’t deceiving you when you watch him. He’s freaky fast."

Jeremiah concedes he does not have access to all of the data stored on all of the top athletes from all of the top programs. Which teams get how much information from which colleges is "shrouded in mystery," as he says.

What is not a mystery is this — Dolphins general manager Chris Grier and coach Brian Flores by all accounts have a positive relationship with Alabama's Nick Saban. After all, Grier seems to take a Crimson Tide player every year.

And so if Grier asks — nicely, of course — it can be ascertained Alabama would probably turn over some helpful analytics on Waddle as well as Smith and running back Najee Harris, all of whom the Dolphins will surely consider drafting.

“If I was running a team, I’d move heaven and earth to make sure I had access to all of that information,” Jeremiah said. “Because I don’t think there is anything more valuable."

Click to expand...

Andy Dufresne said:

I gotta say, the broken ankle is giving me slight pause. RBs and WRs with foot injuries are a bit of a bugaboo to me.

Click to expand...

Eric Galko @EricGalko

We have #Alabama Jaylen Waddle as the top rated WR in the 2021 class. 

It’s not just speed (though his game speed is among the best in the last decade among top WRs, but it’s the  tracking (crucial) and after-catch ability that could make him Tyreek-ish.

Click to expand...

Faust said:

https://twitter.com/ericgalko/status/1384862735733690368?s=21

Click to expand...

Albert Breer @AlbertBreer

Just because it's about to be draft week ... I don't think there's a player whose highlight reel is more fun to watch than Jaylen Waddle's. Whole thing is ridiculous.

Click to expand...

An NFC executive told ESPN that he believes that Alabama WR Jaylen Waddle is the "best player in the entire draft."

ESPN's Jeremy Fowler and Dan Graziano pass along that current buzz has the Eagles keen on Waddle. To the point where Philadelphia might trade up to get him. The reporters note that because Dallas (No. 10) and the New York Giants (No. 11) both have picks ahead of the Eagles (No. 12) right now, any trade up would likely need to be with another outfit -- simply due to the fact that all three teams are in the NFC East and thus (presumably) won't be trading with each other. As for who could be a willing trade partner should Philly really, truly be enamored with Waddle, look toward the Lions (No. 7) and the Panthers (No. 8). 

SOURCE: ESPN Plus

Apr 28, 2021, 12:27 PM ET

Click to expand...

“One of the things that I always look for in a receiver is how fast can he come out of a break and how fast he can accelerate. Jaylen Waddle probably does that better than anyone I’ve ever seen.” Nick Saban via College GameDay

Click to expand...

Dolphins selected Alabama WR Jaylen Waddle with the No. 6 overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft.

The Dolphins traded back from No. 3 to ultimately come back up to No. 6 earlier this month. Waddle reunites with Tua Tagovailoa in Miami and will be a deep-threat playmaker opposite Will Fuller and DeVante Parker on South Beach. Waddle (5'9/180) totaled 106/1,999/17 across 971 career snaps with the Crimson Tide despite sharing the field with Jerry Jeudy, Henry Ruggs and DeVonta Smith for a majority of his career. A dynamic playmaker who averaged 18.9 yards per catch, the former also finished his collegiate career with four receptions of 75-plus yards and an average 19.3 yards per punt return (38/733/2) and 26.8 yards per kick return (8/214/1). He didn't test (nor should he have) at Alabama's pro day but was reportedly clocked with a 4.37 40-time ahead of National Signing Day. Assuming he's cleared from the dislocated ankle that shortened his final season to just five appearances, Waddle will indisputably flip fields in the league from day one.

- Rotoworld

Click to expand...

Ministry of Pain said:

Sad night in Miami, not many of my fellow Phinsfans off of these boards is excited about the pick. I would say about 70%+ pretty against the pick for Miami when they have so many needs. 

Salguero stopped posting Twitter updates after Miami took Waddle. Doesn't seem like a lot of Miami writers are thrilled with this either when you see they traded up and then the team that owns our 1st also took Devonta Smith on the same team. 

The irony with Philly taking Smith cannot be overlooked. 

Click to expand...

Shawnky said:

Waddle is better than Smith. Not sure why Miami fans are upset. 

Click to expand...

voiceofunreason said:

I assume it's paying to move up to get him. 

Click to expand...

voiceofunreason said:

I assume it's paying to move up to get him. 

Click to expand...

jtd13 said:

Nailed it. I'd rather have smith for what philly gave up to jump to 10, vs Waddle minus the 1st. Also 1 pick after chase stings.

I did prefer Waddle over Smith, but it feels like we paid a premium to pick right after a big tier drop. 

Click to expand...

voiceofunreason said:

Wouldn't argue with that, seemed like a dumb trade when they made it and not any smarter now. Maybe they thought they'd get Chase or Pitts. 

Click to expand...

FreeBaGeL said:

Yeah I think this is what happened.  At the time Pitts to Atlanta wasn't really a thing being talked about yet and everyone thought the Bengals were locked in on Sewell.

I think they thought they'd have their choice of the two at 6 at the time and didn't even consider the idea that both would be gone.

Click to expand...

Ministry of Pain said:

That, the fact he was injured often, never got much more than 500 yds receiving last couple seasons, lined up opposite the Heisman winner at the same position and still went ahead of him in the Draft. And yeah the fact we paid a 1st to jump back up and then Philly takes it form us and also takes Devonta Smith, yeah it just feels a little bitter tonight. 

Click to expand...

Shawnky said:

Injured often?   I can only find the injury from this past season, and it was a freak injury His numbers were better than Smith’s before the injury on fewer catches. He will have a better career than Smith as he’s the superior talent. You wouldn’t have got either if you had stayed at 12.  Seems like unnecessary whining. 

Click to expand...

Ministry of Pain said:

What are the early projections for Waddle as a rookie in 2021? 

Click to expand...