Jaylen Waddle is heading to Denver. The Dolphins and Broncos have agreed to a trade that has Waddle, the Dolphins’ No. 1 wide receiver, going to Denver and a first-round pick going to Miami. The full deal is reportedly Waddle and a fourth-round pick for the Broncos’ first-, third-, and fourth-round picks. It’s a big move for the Broncos, who are building aggressively around quarterback Bo Nix in the hopes that they can advance even further than they did in 2025, when they were one of the NFL’s biggest regular-season surprises as the No. 1 seed in the AFC. Without Nix, the Broncos lost the AFC Championship Game, but with him they think they’re Super Bowl contenders, and they think Waddle can be a big piece of a championship-caliber team. The 27-year-old Waddle has spent his entire career with the Dolphins, who selected him with the sixth overall pick in the 2021 NFL draft. He’s a big-time talent, but the Dolphins are rebuilding and have decided to go with cheaper players while stockpiling draft picks. Now Denver hopes it’s putting the finishing touches on a Super Bowl roster.
Can't say I like this. Getting rid of all your good players isn't a winning strategy. It's the false notion that hey may be able to pick a better player than the one you know is good.
Sad to see him go. BUT, all things considered it makes sense in the long run. We need more than Waddle to become relevant so these draft picks are necessary.
I like it. we are in a long rebuild, Waddle is a luxury player, he is not a franchise player. He would have been rotting here dealing with consecutive losing seasons that may extend to 2028.. it is better to cash out now before his value tanks way down the picks we got is more than i expected.. I said a couple times here, we only have two players that can net us first round picks.. achane can get us two firsts, waddle can get us 1… we got more than just a first.. we got a third and a fourth as well.
Controversial take, but Waddle feels like one of those good not quite great guys. I dont really mind the trade and think we got decent value. Maybe ill have to eat my words but whatever. Waddle is capable of having big games and big moments, but he also has a bit of an injury history and some hands issues that I think keep him away from being a true elite guy. I liked him a lot, but he felt overdrafted in that slot and that we kept waiting for him to really evolve. I get thay Tyreeks arrival stunted Waddles upside here, but even so I just didn't really trust him as an elite WR along the lines of Chase, Jefferson, JSN, etc. I think its clear that Sullivan wants a near total rebuild and expensive players arent really his thing until we develop more of a core. Especially from a WR standpoint, we just have tonsee how Green Bay approached the position with value and bulk as opposed to trying to find a singular talent. Dont expect a first round pick, especially at 11, to be a replacement. I wouldn't be shocked if we trade Achane or Seiler at this point either, though the return I'm not sure would match Waddle.
This is a smart move. When there was that "rumor" that another team awhile back offered a 1st and 3rd for Waddle and they turned it down, I was shocked. He's not a great, dominant type of receiver. He's not irreplaceable and considering we need all the picks we can get to replace the many holes on the team, this seems like a easy decision to me. We really need a bigger, taller type of receiver. Great move. So far, Sully has been doing the right things. He's sticking to his guns. This is the right way to do things. Good stuff.
I disagree, mainly for the points already made. Waddle is a fantastic WR but he's not a true #1 that you're throwing jump balls to and expecting him to outplay much larger defenders. We can replace Waddle with that first round pick. Will we get the same speedster? Nope. Fast gets slow but big doesn't get small. Our guys are sticking to their philosophies and betting that there's a player or two in the 1st and 3rd round that better fits Malik Willis. Besides, we just signed a smaller speedster to fill that Waddle role. Is he on the same level? Nope, but again, we're focused on priorities and the Temu Waddle works just fine. I don't love this...I hate losing a stud player of that caliber. But at the same time I do feel like it's the best possible move for the team as a whole. About your comment on Achane, he's the absolute full package for a 2-down back and he's likely the best in the league at this time. If someone offers to overpay, then sure....we'll get the Temu Achane and a few other backs in the draft. But he's still on his first contract (meaning, he's cheap) and I think it would take a king's haul for him to walk from Miami.
In addition to draft compensation, the Dolphins have gained some salary cap relief by trading receiver Jaylen Waddle to the Broncos. Denver will absorb and pay all of Waddle’s contract for 2026 and beyond, a source with knowledge of the situation confirmed to PFT. Waddle was set to count $11.6 million against the cap for Miami in 2026 with a $1.215 million base salary and $16.631 million in guarantees. Waddle is under contract through 2028. He is owed $15.203 million guaranteed in 2027 but has no guaranteed money in 2028. The Broncos can re-work Waddle’s deal or sign him to an extension to reduce his cap number and keep him with the team going forward. Waddle, 27, caught 64 passes for 910 yards with six touchdowns for the Dolphins in 2025. He has 373 receptions for 4,039 yards with 26 TDs since Miami selected him at No. 6 overall in 2021.
Like the move, Waddle was not the right pick back then, good but not a great player. Let’s see what the new regime can do with those picks.
I think this a great trade. 2 draft picks for a number 2 wr is a steal and salary cap space going forward. No brainer to me. We now have 7 picks in top 100
My problem is that the Dolphins are acquiring too many picks. in 2020 when we had all the pucks in the world we kept swinging for the high reward high risk players, and from that draft our best pick was probably Robert Hunt, who doesn't exactly play at one of the game changing positions. Every time teams have a surfeit of picks they seem to reduce their due diligence and go all in in the hope that they dan get a once in a lifetime draft like the famous 1974 Steelers draft
I think there's too many needs to bet the farm on potential, and I think the Dolphins front office realizes that by the way they're working in the offseason.
Since we don't have another true #1 WR we should just get rid of the #1 we have. OK. With the Bronko's taking the salary hit along with giving the picks, it's a good trade. I just hate getting rid of known good entities on possibly finding someone that's maybe slightly better.
I could see them trading for 2027 picks. Whatever happens,we need young, hungry, talented players and lots of them. This to me is the right move
Good trade value that I'm happy with. Not a fan of Waddle's hands and disappearing at times. We need bodies and we're going to get them. Just draft good football players, not potential, and we'll compete this year for a WC. With the cap space we can go out and sign two solid players now too. Things are looking up for 2026
Waddle is/was questionable as a #1 WR, so without someone to pair him with you don't get his full value. Too many needs to use #11 on a WR this draft, so moving Waddle was the right move. The offense will be ugly though, unless Willis shows himself capable of carrying that side of the ball. Draft development guys and take your lumps in 2026 seems to be the plan.
I just hated how he left his feet for every ball and never attacked a deep ball at its apex. Always a body catcher. But, when Tua hit him in stride and he actually stayed on his feet nobody was catching him.
I'm not gonna pre-judge the actions of Sullivan and this regime based on the abject failure that was Chris Grier.
It's also about positional value. I don't think Sullivan or Halfley value WR in the way that Grier and McDaniel did. Green Bay was well known for hits in the 2-3 round range, but not spending big money or first round picks. It's why I am laughing at all the mock draft people immediately switching us to WR at 11. Like, no. That's gonna be a beefy dude unless Downs falls to us. Or, wild speculation ... if we do trade Achane maybe a little bit of Love lol.
Waddle fell of after his second season. Seemed like he was getting injured more often. It's good value for him. It'll be interesting to see what exactly we do with the receiver room now.
I can see it going either way. On one hand, if you can draft the best WR of the draft at 11 (Tate or Tyson), you get an elite player that immediately replaces Waddle. But on the other hand, you're right, many teams do just fine developing average WRs to fit their offensive scheme. The Kenny Hartline's of the world can get open and catch the ball as good as anyone, they're just not what we'd view as superstars because they're not super fast or particularly tall/agile. If we go big boys in the trenches on either side at 11, I'm not going to complain. I think it's important to judge this draft on all the picks, not just the 1st rounders, and I have a really good feeling about the direction this team is going. With that said, we do have glaring holes in our secondary. That's where I'm the most worried right now.
Nah, it's the understanding that you're in cap hell for a year and the collection of assets you get for trading players at their highest value is going to be better down the line. We are in for a rough season this year with or without Waddle. Getting a first and a third potentially gets you two starters and that mitigates the time we'll be in rebuild mode. With that being said, if we release Achane, I'm taking a long break and will revive my fandom when they revive the team.
Problem for us is our highest paid player is making less than $12 million and we're still needing to shed payroll to afford payroll. Nobody abuts a roster better from a pay standpoint than rookies. With that being said, I know Sully doesn't believe in trading picks, but I have to believe he'll package a couple this year for payroll reasons more than improving the roster.
