Good morning, Broncos Country!
The Denver Broncos finally made their move.
While it’s been a few days since the trade with the Miami Dolphins to bring stud receiver Jaylen Waddle to Denver, the impact is still being felt in Broncos Country and around the NFL.
Bo Nix finally has his offensive weapon, but it’s so much more than that. George Paton and Sean Payton added yet another character leader to the locker room. When Waddle met with the local media earlier this week, Troy Renck asked a question that elicited the best answer.
As Waddle said when he was asked where his humility comes from:
“I honestly think it was just the way I was brought up. My mom and dad obviously tried to do a good job as best they could with keeping me not too high, but not too low. So just staying at a good headspace.”
The second part of the question was about how Waddle fits into the Broncos’ receiver room. Again, another great answer.
“I think it’s going to be a fun group,” Waddle said to the media. “They have a lot of talent with ‘Court’(receiver Courtland Sutton), ‘Marv’ (receiver Marvin Mims Jr.), (receiver) Troy (Franklin), (receiver) Pat (Bryant), (receiver) Lil’Jordan (Humphrey). I’m here to help in every fashion, making plays and learning. I’m excited to learn from them and (for) them to learn from me. It should be fun; it should be great.”
Waddle is the missing piece to Denver’s offense. He brings versatility and talent that is hard to find at the receiver position. And the stats back that up.
Matt Harmon also notes that Waddle was eighth in first downs per route run among WRs with 200+ routes last season, 12th in yards per route, and 11th in successful targets per route. Harmon adds that Waddle beats man coverage while lining up as an outside receiver on the vast majority of his snaps.
Adding that for Nix and to the offense should make a huge difference.
“I think over my time, I got a chance to play all over the place,” Waddle said when asked about his strengths. “So I think that helps, just knowing the offense inside and out and being able to put me in different spots. I think that’s always helpful, just being able to go around and play different positions.”
Now Waddle will actually have a quarterback and team around him that doesn’t suck.
He’s not only joining a team that was one game away from playing in the Super Bowl, but he could also be the missing piece to put the Broncos over the top.
As Waddle said when he was asked about coming to a team with championship goals:
“It’s exciting, like I said, just playing with great players. Everyone is talking about how great and close the team is. I’m excited to be around the guys, get to know them, and they get to know me and go from there.”