Making the Case
2026 | Making The Case For Jaylen Waddle
✅ ELITE Prospect
✅ ELITE Athlete
✅ RD1 NFL Draft pick
✅ Proven WR1 Producer
✅ Highly-Graded
✅ In His Prime
✅ Underrated Situation
✅ Affordable Price Tag
Jaylen Waddle WILL be a Fantasy WR1 again in DEN.
Let me tell you why…
First let’s talk about how good of a prospect Jaylen Waddle was.
He was a 4-Star Recruit (95 Prospect Grade).
& he walked into Alabama & posted 45/848/7 as a true freshman (2nd on the team in receiving yards; ahead of Devonta Smith, Henry Ruggs).
Waddle averaged 3.58, 2.98, & 4.38 YPPR in 3 collegiate seasons – for a ridiculous 3.57 career YPRR.
There are very few WR’s – nevermind RD1 WR’s – who were as efficient as Waddle in college.
He was also clocked with a 4.37 40 at his Pro Day.
Jaylen Waddle was also an early-declare & Top-10 Draft pick.
The only other WR’s to declare-early & get drafted Top-10 in the past decade?
- Amari Cooper
- Ja’Marr Chase
- Drake London
- Garrett Wilson
- Marvin Harrison Jr.
- Malik Nabers
- Tetairoa McMillan
- *Travis Hunter
Waddle walked into the NFL & immediately posted a Top-15 finish (104/1015/6; WR15, 15.4 PPG).
He is a proven WR1 producer (75/1356/8; WR12, 15.2 PPG in his 2nd NFL season).
Waddle has also been very highly-graded:
- 85.0 PFF Rec. Grade in 2022 (12th amongst WR’s)
- 90.9 PFF Rec. Grade in 2023 (5th amongst WR’s)
- 85.1 PFF Rec. Grade in 2025 (12th amongst WR’s)
Waddle actually posted career-best marks in Recep Perception in 2025:
- 77th percentile vs Man
- 74th percentile vs Zone
- 81st percentile vs Press
He was also Top-20 in ESPN’s “Open Score.”
Waddle ranked 11th in YPRR (2.19) amongst WR’s last year.
That number was even better in games without Tyreek Hill (2.40; 8th amongst WR’s).
Waddle is going into his Age 27 season in 2026 – which is historically one of the Top-3 most-productive seasons for WR’s.
Waddle’s new situation is also highly-underrated.
DEN ranked 4th in passing attempts per-game (36.3) & 7th in plays per-game (64.1) last season.
MIA ranked 30th (28.2) & 31st (55.8) in those same categories.
People don’t tend to view DEN as a “great” situation for WR’s due to how they rotated their WR’s last year – but 4th in pass attempts & 7th in plays?
GIDDY UP.
The target-competition is also not daunting.
Courtland Sutton turns 31 in October & has topped 1.70 YPRR once in the last 5 seasons.
Evan Engram is toast (1.27 YPRR, 58.3 PFF Receiving Grade in 2025 – 2nd lowest of his career).
The other WR’s are “just guys.”
Waddle fills a key role as a YAC-threat which DEN has been sorely lacking.
Courtland Sutton has averaged just 2.5, 2.1, 2.8, 2.3, & 2.9 YAC/reception the past 5 seasons.
Waddle has averaged 4.4, 6.9, 5.9, 4.1, & 3.6 YAC/reception in 5 NFL seasons.
Expect a lot of manufactured touches for Waddle – in addition to deep-shots downfield.
Waddle should also connect on more of those deep shots with Bo Nix at QB.
Nix ranked 9th in PFF Passing Grade (91.9) on deep targets last year; Tua Tagovailoa ranked 24th (83.1).
Jaylen Waddle has already posted multiple seasons with 15+ PPG & all signs point to him doing it again as the WR1 in DEN.
He is a SCREAMING value at his current WR25 redraft/WR26 dynasty ADP.
BUY, BUY, BUY, BUY, BUY.