Why Jaylen Waddle is going to 'go to the moon' in Broncos offense
Yahoo Sports fantasy analysts Josh Norris and Hayden Winks discuss why the new Broncos wide receiver is due for a big fantasy season in Sean Payton's offense. Check out the full conversation on "Yahoo Fantasy Football with Josh and Hayden" - and subscribe on Apple Podcasts , Spotify , YouTube or wherever you listen .
Video Transcript
Jalen Waddell at wide receiver 18 on Yahoo, sixth pick of the fourth round.
He's wide receiver 21 on Best Ball, so Peyton, it's one of those rare combinations that he's actually going even earlier on Yahoo and might be the earliest out there on any platform.
We can get into if that's even rich for our blood in a little bit, but I also am certain that Jalen Waddell's gonna go to the moon this year because Sean Payton knows that h- this is the reason and the way that his offense goes from average to great through Jalen Waddell, and that's why they traded a first-round pick for him.
I mean, we had Ryan Heath in the program for multiple years.
He's always outlined historically that league-winning wide receivers, their first down per route run rate is very sticky, and it's why we were on Chris Olave last year.
Jalen Waddell ranked eighth in that mark last season.
In weeks one through 16 last year, he was wide receiver 18 in points per game on an offense that was 31st in plays per contest, and now he goes to the offense that is fifth in plays per game.
And just, again, to outline that, Courtland Sutton ran 664 routes compared to Jalen Waddell's 442.
Wow.
And they basically played the same amount of games.
So you're getting someone here who the talent we know is up there, but now actually goes to an environment that he can be the lead wide receiver that really focuses on the routes that he runs at a very high level.
And he is probably the reason that the Broncos offense can, take a massive leap this season.
Yeah, I mean, you trade for a first rounder plus for him.
He's gonna get all of the touches.
We're talking downfield touches, underneath touches.
This is an offense that's led in screens over the last two years with Bo Nix and Sean Payton, who both like that, and those have been going to Marvin Mims and Troy Franklin.
I've got a feeling those are- Right now gonna go to Jalen Waddell.
From 2022 to 2025, that's when Waddell was with Tyreek Hill.
In the games where Tua was active and not, like, a bunch of scrub quarterbacks, Waddell was a wide receiver 16 per game, all while Tyreek Hill was the wide receiver three.
Like, that's how good Jalen Waddell is, that even when you have the Tyreek Hill offense, he's still getting home.
All the per route stuff is there.
The routes are gonna expand.
So he doesn't even have to get better.
And I just have a, a really good feeling that Sean Payton has, like, a really good idea of how to utilize him, and they could actually really use him 'cause the Evan Ingram stuff wasn't working.
A lot of the throws to the running backs weren't working.
All the backup wide receivers, we're talking about really low yards per target.
And not to mention, that was in the first and second seasons of Bo Nix.
Nobody wants to give Bo Nix any credit, but typically third-year quarterbacks are better than first- and second-year quarterbacks.
And, before Tyreek Hill, was a Dolphin, in that season, Jalen Waddell caught 104 passes.
So full PPR, I love him.
I would take him in round three if you had to.
Good news is- Okay you don't have to.
You can draft him in, in the fourth round, and that's where I'm targeting him.
