The Denver Broncos made one of the biggest splashes of the offseason, trading picks in the first, third and fourth rounds to the Miami Dolphins for Jaylen Waddle and a fourth-rounder.
And it came after plenty of background research into the explosive wideout.
According to Albert Breer of SI.com, “[General manager George Paton’s] staff was already doing background work on Waddle. Bo Nix told Paton that, in the 2019 Iron Bowl, Waddle put together one of the greatest individual games he’d ever seen, even as Nix’s Auburn team beat Waddle’s Alabama team 48–45. Safety Brandon Jones was a resource, too, having covered Waddle for three years in practice in Miami. And one of Paton’s scouts with a tight relationship with Nick Saban reached out, and Saban told him that Waddle was competitive, tough, sudden, and could drop his weight as fast as anyone he’d ever coached.”
Waddle, 27, will give the Broncos a speedy complement to Courtland Sutton and Troy Franklin. Waddle registered over 1,000 receiving yards in each of his first three seasons, though Tua Tagovailoa’s injury issues and overall decline in the past two seasons saw those numbers dip.
Still, the veteran wideout caught 64 passes for 910 yards and six touchdowns as the primary option in Miami’s passing attack, with Tyreek Hill’s season cut short due to injury.
Now, he’ll be on a team with plenty of weapons for defenses to worry about, and he’ll bring dynamic, play-making upside to Denver’s offense.
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