There was a portion of time between the hiring of Mike McDaniel and the trade for Tyreek Hill in which Jaylen Waddle was slated to be the featured wide receiver in the Miami Dolphins offense. There have certainly been benefits for Waddle in having Hill line up on the other side of the formation, but there is no denying that the presence of the fastest player in the league has put Waddle’s usage on the back burner in many contests over the past two years.
Dolphins Usage Of Jaylen Waddle Could Be An Issue
🎥 Jaylen Waddle on getting targeted 3 consecutive times while Tyreek Hill was out vs. Raiders: “I kind of figured that’s kind of how it goes, just knowing that Reek was out, probably get looked at a lot more.” #FinsUp pic.twitter.com/8BwVdiRxzb
— FinsXtra (@FinsXtra) November 23, 2023
During a press conference previewing Friday’s game against the New York Jets, Waddle was asked about his usage. He seemed to be careful with his answer, and his body language suggested some frustration with the situation.
During last Sunday’s game against the Raiders, Hill left the contest for a brief period with an apparent hand injury. Three of the first four plays of the ensuing drive for the Dolphins were targets that resulted in catches for Waddle, which came after just one target and zero receptions prior to that point. After Hill returned to the game toward the end of the second quarter, Waddle had just one catch for 19 yards the rest of the way.
Jaylen Waddle certainly has the skill set to be a legit #1 receiver on plenty of NFL teams. With Tyreek Hill playing on the other side, it is easy to forget that Waddle is one of the fastest players in the entire league, and is constantly a big play threat for Miami. But they’ll need to feed him with targets in order to keep him happy, as he is a big part of their future and will be negotiating a contract in the coming years.
Can Waddle Get On Track Against Tough Jets Pass Defense?
All ⚪️ fit on ⚫️ Friday pic.twitter.com/nfdlMUu5BH
— Miami Dolphins (@MiamiDolphins) November 23, 2023
They can start on Friday with their game against the Jets, but they’ll be going up against one of the best and most talented secondaries in the league when they visit New York. They allow the 5th fewest yards of any team in the NFL, and have forced opposing quarterbacks into 10 interceptions in their first 10 games.
It was thought that Jaylen Waddle would have a bigger impact for the Dolphins this season, especially with the attention that Hill commands on the other side. But it seems as though the team is simply not scheming for him as much as the fan base would like, and it could be starting to affect the players’ happiness.
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