Jaylen Waddle

Taken sixth overall in the 2021 draft, Waddle mostly served as a high-volume possession receiver his rookie season, with a 7.1 aDOT, 74.3 percent catch rate and 9.8 yards per catch on 140 targets. Then the Dolphins brought in coach Mike McDaniel and WR Tyreek Hill during the 2022 offseason, which resulted in Waddle seeing 23 fewer targets but adding 341 yards and two TDs to his rookie-year totals, with his aDOT jumping to 11.8 and his yards per catch to a league-high 18.1. His third season looked more like this second than his first, only with three missed games and the efficiency dropping from dominant to merely excellent (69.2 percent catch rate, 14.1 yards per catch, 9.8 YPT). Waddle's best performance came Week 15 against the Jets when Hill was out of the lineup with an ankle injury. An 8-142-1 receiving line against Sauce Gardner and Co. reaffirmed Waddle's No. 1 WR talent, but Hill returned the next week and Waddle then suffered an ankle injury of his own. While not quite as fast as his superstar teammate, Waddle is similar in terms of size (5-10, 185) and likely would've run a sub-4.4 40-yard dash if he'd tested before his rookie year. The biggest drawback is that he's averaged just 7.1 targets per game under McDaniel, whose offense has been more fantasy-friendly for Hill and the running backs. And as much as Waddle clearly is capable of more, there's not much reason to expect him to go beyond 7-8 targets per game so long as Hill stays healthy.

Waddle drew 23 more targets as a rookie than he did in his second season, yet finished his sophomore NFL campaign with 141 more yards on the strength of 11.6 YPT and a league-high 18.1 yards per catch. The trade for Tyreek Hill had a massive impact on Waddle's role, pushing him to the perimeter more often and decreasing the attention he faced from defenses while also costing him volume. Given the unlikelihood of a repeat in those efficiency stats, even from a player of Waddle's caliber, the hope for 2023 is that he can somewhat close the volume gap between himself and Hill, who finished last year with 53 more targets. Both are among the handful of fastest wide receivers in the league, if not the two fastest, and they'll again account for a massive share of the passing volume in an offense with sketchy complementary options like Braxton Berrios, Cedrick Wilson and Durham Smythe. In fact, Wilson is the only other guy on the roster with even a 450-yard receiving season on his resume, and he had 62 percent of his career yardage in 2021 with the Cowboys before falling flat last season in Miami.

With his 140-target rookie season marked by an especially impressive finish last year, Waddle might have been a candidate to lead the league in targets this season. Then he became the No. 2 wide receiver on his own team after the Dolphins gave up five draft picks to acquire Tyreek Hill from the Chiefs. Last year, quarterback Tua Tagovailoa was either injured or working with an injury-depleted receiving corps, and without much help from one of the worst offensive lines in the league. This year, he'll have Hill, Waddle and Cedrick Wilson at wide receiver, plus tight end Mike Gesicki and a second massive offseason addition — LT Terron Armstead, formerly of the Saints. Tagovailoa is positioned to succeed, and the Dolphins probably won’t need Waddle to take on double-digit targets every week the way he did throughout the second half of last season. Based on what we saw last year, though, it might only be a season or two before Waddle surpasses fellow speed demon Hill as the No. 1 guy in Miami. The Alabama product opened his career working the slot and saw steady volume from the jump, but it wasn't until later in the year — when he got more snaps outside — that Waddle really broke through for the Dolphins. He scored four of his six receiving TDs from an inside alignment, but he also had less than half his yards there despite seeing 60 percent of his routes and 57 percent of his targets in the slot. That's encouraging, to say the least, especially with new additions Hill and Wilson likely to take some of the slot work. Waddle has already proven he's comfortable on the perimeter, or inside, and the improved team around him could help with efficiency to partially offset his reduced volume projection after the Hill trade.

Waddle’s final season at Alabama was cut short due to a dislocated ankle, but prior to the injury he had 567 yards and four scores in his first four games. He returned for a brief appearance in the College Football Playoff title game, catching three passes for 34 yards, but then opted against working out at a pro day. At 5-10, 180, Waddle is small, and while he wasn’t timed in the 40, the GPS data apparently showed he was the fastest receiver in the country. His lack of size could be an issue as it has been for players like DeSean Jackson and Marquise Brown, but keep in mind Tyreek Hill and Antonio Brown are also of similar frames. Waddle will take his talents to Miami after the Dolphins drafted him sixth overall, reuniting him with former Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa. Waddle will see targets right away, but he’ll have to compete with veteran DeVante Parker and free-agent acquisition Will Fuller.