Jaylen Waddle is a receiver from Alabama who is 5’10 183 lbs and he he’s one of the faster receivers in the entire draft class. He missed a portion of the 2020 season before returning for the National Championship, but before that injury he was absolutely dominating opening the season with 4 straight 120+ yard performances. He is a dynamic receiver and will be a serious weapon for any offense that he’s added to.

Strengths: 

  • Gets Separation

Jaylen Waddle just knows how to get separation against defensive backs. Even if he’s not the most polished route runner just yet there are plenty of plays on tapes where he sells fakes extremely well and uses his amazing quickness to get open.

  • Electric Speed

Some of the other top receivers in this year’s draft class have decent speed but it’s not like Waddle’s speed. Waddle is electric and extremely twitchy and he can accelerate to his higher top speed so fast which separates him speed wise from other guys in the class.

  • Ability to get Open Deep Down the Field

Jaylen Waddle at the next level is going to be a deep threat for a team. He has shown the ability to consistently get open deep whether that be with him selling a fake well or him just flat out running past the defender.

  • Great Change of Direction Ability

Waddle is extremely sudden with his movements and he can quickly shift to the inside to gain leverage on a defender or when he changes the angle he’s taking.

  • Amazing After the Catch

Jaylen Waddle does so well after the catch because of just how much speed and acceleration he has. In the open field it’s so hard to even get to him because of how fast he is.

  • Return Value

Jaylen Waddle returned kicks and punts at Alabama and he definitely has the ability to do that at the NFL level as well. He’s amazing in the open field and extremely fast so he could provide value in that aspect of the game as well.

Weaknesses: 

  • Doesn’t Make Many Contested Catches

Jaylen Waddle isn’t a guy that you can throw up a 50 50 ball to or ask to make a tough play with defenders draped all over him because he doesn’t have that elite tracking and jumping ability required to make those kinds of plays.

  • Not the Greatest Hands

Jaylen Waddle can definitely stand to improve his hands. There are a few drops and balls that he body catches instead of using correctly. He doesn’t catch well away from his frame and he won’t allow much room for error from QBs.

  • Route Running Needs Work

Jaylen Waddle shows flashes of great route running, sets up his route extremely well and completely sells his fake before changing directions, but he’s very inconsistent and still needs work running consistently good routes where he doesn’t give away what direction he’s going.

Player Comp: Unlike what many people think the correct player comparison for Jaylen Waddle is not Tyreek Hill. Just because he’s fast and short doesn’t make him Hill, there are many more nuances that Hill has and people need to stop comparing a prospect to Hill every year. I think the best player comparison for Waddle is probably Brandin Cooks. They both have similar frames with great long speed and ability to hit that speed. They’re great in space and have sudden movements and coming out they both had room to grow with their route running and they also both aren’t the greatest 50 50 ball receivers.

Final Thoughts: Jaylen Waddle is another receiver that I’m just around the consensus on, I think that the media has done a pretty good job ranking the top receivers of this year’s draft class. He has speed that’s just so rare to find but there are quite a few things he needs to work on which is why I have him as my WR3 and I think he should be drafted in the 12-17 range of the draft. I think some good team fits would be the Patriots and Dolphins, both teams missing a consistent deep threat for their offense.