Footballguys on Jaylen Waddle
From the article
Waddle managed just four receptions for 24 yards on seven targets...Through six games, Waddle has 22 catches for 228 yards and one touchdown. His 10.4 yards per reception are on pace to be his worst number since his rookie year...Waddle has four drops already this season, after three all of last year...Bo Nix has a 4.9 air yards per pass attempt rate so far this year...among the 338 quarterback seasons with 100 or more pass attempts from Weeks 1-6 since 2016, Nix has the lowest air yards per attempt rate out of all of them.
STACKED’s take
Waddle's WR18 draft capital has collapsed to WR46; drops and Nix's conservative air yards are the culprits.
Waddle was drafted as WR18 in Round 4 after the Broncos acquired him from Miami with expectations of explosiveness, but through six games he has 22 catches for 228 yards and one touchdown with a 10.4 yards per reception average—his worst since his rookie year. He has four drops already this season (10.8 percent drop rate) compared to three all of last year, and is currently WR46 averaging 8.8 points per game. The source notes that while Waddle has the 11th-highest average separation in the league at 3.9 yards, the disconnect stems from Bo Nix's 4.9 air yards per pass attempt—the lowest among 338 quarterback seasons with 100+ attempts from Weeks 1-6 since 2016—and Denver's conservative passing scheme that contradicts Waddle's skill set.
Jaylen WaddleWR · DENPlayer page — value, ADP, projections, and every insight