Jaylen Waddle’s best football is likely in front of him, and that’s saying something for the spikes in production we’ve seen from him already. The Denver Broncos are positioned to compete in a way that the Dolphins aren’t, and that puts fantasy football managers in a spot where, at cost, Waddle could well be a key piece on a run to glory this winter.
Should You Draft Jaylen Waddle in Fantasy Football?
Buckle up.
We’ve seen Jaylen Waddle do a bit of everything through five seasons. He’s had a 100-catch season (something only seven players did in 2025), an 18-yard-per-catch season (Alec Pierce was the only member of that club last year), and a season averaging north of 2.2 PPR points per target (Jaxon Smith-Njigba in 2025: 2.20).
We know the pieces to the puzzle are on the table, and now we have a situation where he can flourish in a creative offense with a quarterback on an upward trajectory. He was stuck in Miami (24th in points per drive and 26th in offensive EPA over the past two seasons), but now he has Sean Payton’s buy-in (they sent three 2026 picks to the ‘Fins in this trade) in a system that flashed tremendous potential as Bo Nix’s development picked up.
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The only case against smashing Waddle at his current cost, I suppose, would be the number of options in this Denver receiver room. I don’t think that’s wrong (Troy Franklin and Pat Bryant are interesting long-term options), but I do think an over-indexing of Courtland Sutton is giving us a nice discount.
Sutton is a solid player; he’s not Waddle. We saw his target rate and yards per route run dip in Year 2 of the Nix experience, signs that are being overlooked in favor of the raw counting numbers, which were as much a product of limited competition last season.
Even with the situation working in his favor (limited push from his teammates and growth under center), Sutton was outside of the top 24 receivers just as often as he was inside of it.
He’s the second-best receiver on this team and could well lead this squad in touchdown receptions, but I’m projecting him to be a clear WR2 (not a WR1b), and that has me looking for creative ways to get “Waddle” into my team names.
Preseason Fantasy WR Rankings
- Ja’Marr Chase | CIN
- Puka Nacua | LAR
- Jaxon Smith-Njigba | SEA
- Amon-Ra St. Brown | DET
- Drake London | ATL
- Justin Jefferson | MIN
- CeeDee Lamb | DAL
- Nico Collins | HOU
- A.J. Brown | NE
- Malik Nabers | NYG
- George Pickens | DAL
- Chris Olave | NO
- Rashee Rice | KC
- Zay Flowers | BAL
- Jaylen Waddle | DEN
- Tee Higgins | CIN
- DeVonta Smith | PHI
- Ladd McConkey | LAC
- Terry McLaurin | WAS
- Emeka Egbuka | TB
- Tetairoa McMillan | CAR
- Garrett Wilson | NYJ
- Jameson Williams | DET
- Christian Watson | GB
- Luther Burden III | CHI
- Rome Odunze | CHI
- Parker Washington | JAX
- Carnell Tate | TEN
- DJ Moore | BUF
- Marvin Harrison Jr. | ARI
- Davante Adams | LAR
- Brian Thomas Jr. | JAX
- Quentin Johnston | LAC
- Mike Evans | SF
- Stefon Diggs | WAS
- Michael Wilson | ARI
- DK Metcalf | PIT
- Jakobi Meyers | JAX
- Josh Downs | IND
- Michael Pittman Jr. | PIT
- Jayden Reed | GB
- Courtland Sutton | DEN
- Wan’Dale Robinson | TEN
- Chris Godwin Jr. | TB
- Alec Pierce | IND
- Makai Lemon | PHI
- Jordan Addison | MIN
- De’Zhaun Stribling | SF
- Khalil Shakir | BUF
- Romeo Doubs | NE
