The Miami Dolphins have quite the wide receiver room heading into their 2021 season, headlined by DeVante Parker, Will Fuller V, and Alabama rookie Jaylen Waddle, which may cut into the first-year player’s impact right out of the gate. Still, his rapport alongside collegiate quarterback Tua Tagovailoa certainly should continue to cultivate and grow, potentially pushing him up the pecking order in a quick manner.
This year’s NFL Draft saw the Dolphins decide to add to an area of their offense that was not in desperate need to receive an influx of talent, but it certainly did not hurt that they were able to add a player of Waddle’s character in the first round. His speed and ability to separate from his defender makes him a great addition to a team that will likely be rolling out three wide receiver sets early and often this season.
The lack of defined running backs on this team will only help push them to become more of a passing-reliant offense, as Tagovailoa finally finds his footing in the league running an offense. Comments about his inability to pick up certain elements of the offense last year led to his struggles at times, so hopefully a full offseason has aided his ascension into the first-round selection that he was last year.
Waddle joins a team that has two other options that could potentially fill the role of WR1, as both Parker and Fuller have the lead-dog characteristics on their mantle. Waddle brings an unique element of speed and elusiveness to this group, something that certainly will help him carve out a defined role for himself right away, even with the other seasoned options ahead of him on the depth chart.
The biggest thing working in Waddle’s favor is his history with Tagovailoa, as their time spent with the Crimson Tide helped them produce eye-popping results – the kind of strong arm that Miami’s starter has complements Waddle’s skillset well, even in tight windows.
Looking up at the Buffalo Bills in the AFC East division cannot be easy for the Dolphins to do, especially with their rebuilding process almost complete. If Tagovailoa is able to rectify his first-year struggles and produce a consistent brand of football on a weekly basis as this team’s starting QB, then Waddle’s role will only grow as the season progresses, good news for the youngster to begin his professional career.
2021 Projections
51 receptions / 679 receiving yards / 3 TD's / 3 fumbles
Being a bit bearish on Waddle’s first season in the league is a very safe assumption, especially if Parker is able to hold onto his WR1 role and Fuller is able to come out of his PED-related suspension healthy and sustains his health for the remainder of the season. Selecting Waddle should be seen more as a long-term play than a short one, as the money that will be needed to resign Fuller will only rise if A) his play is solid and B) the NFL salary cap sustains its expected growth and resets market going rates for positional groups.
Across 10 games last season, Tagovailoa threw for over 1,800 yards, 11 TD's, and 5 interceptions, healthy numbers for a guy that reportedly struggled to handle the playbook in his first year. Expecting him to raise those numbers across an entire season should see around 3,700 passing yards and 22+ passing TD's, meaning that Waddle will need to earn his share of targets.
Earning just over 50 targets may not bode well for Waddle right out of the gate, but wideouts that bring game-changing speed to the game have historically been injury risks, so holding a role that gets him some time on the sideline may help keep him fresh. His healthy yards per catch average of just over 13 yards shows the kind of impact he can have on this offense, even if it does not involve a high rate of scoring.
Speed guys can also be possession wideouts, and while Tagovailoa enjoyed airing the ball out, establishing (or in this case, re-establishing) a rapport between he and Waddle may come best through short-yardage targets. His speed can help him translate ball security and soft hands into hard-fought first downs, an area that the Dolphins certainly could benefit from.
Waddle was the second WR off the board in this year’s draft, and while his pedigree coming out of Alabama certainly helps paint him in a rosy way towards teams in the league, his impact in his first year may not reach the levels that a lot are hoping. Locked into an offense that needs to identify itself and its starting QB first may mean that Waddle (along with Parker and Fuller) takes a back seat to begin the year, but he has all of the intangibles you look for in a guy that can be molded into a solid speed option in the NFL.
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