ClutchPoints
With the Miami Dolphins making moves like trading away Jalen Ramsey and Jonnu Smith for Minkah Fitzpatrick, the team still needs explosive production from its offensive playmakers. As fans will have their bold predictions for the Dolphins, one player that will be crucial to their success is wide receiver Jaylen Waddle.
The 26-year-old is coming off a season that should be considered a slump, where he caught 58 passes for 744 yards and two touchdowns, breaking the streak of three consecutive years with over 1,000 yards. Waddle would even admit that it was “definitely the year that I didn’t want as an individual,” according to Marcel Louis-Jacques of ESPN.
“After watching the film, definitely a lot of hand eye (coordination) — I feel like I’m trying to move without the ball too much,” Waddle said. “And just the simple things, just timing, getting smoother in and out of my routes. Pretty much that.”
Waddle’s connection with star quarterback Tua Tagovailoa is vital to the offense, along with Tyreek Hill, with the Alabama product looking for a bounce-back season in 2025. Head coach Mike McDaniel would praise Waddle, saying he has noticed the work that’s been put in so far.
“I think he’s shown his teammates who he really is,” McDaniel said. “I think one thing that you can’t really minimize is, from a receiver’s perspective, having quarterbacks that you didn’t even practice with in training camp — that’s a difficult task. The way he worked on his game during the season has transferred into what we need to see from him, from every player.”
With the Dolphins preparing for training camp, it will be a significant one for Waddle, who’s going into his fifth season in the NFL looking to reinforce the notion that he and Hill are one of the NFL’s top one-two punches at receiver. The first step to a bounce-back season is holding oneself accountable, something that Waddle has done in Miami, per McDaniel.
“I think therein proves who he is — where he doesn’t make it a thing because it wasn’t,” McDaniel said. “His game is growing and he is going to find ways to exceed each and every year as he knows to be the standard now. … It’s kind of like a badge of honor in that he doesn’t see it that way, nor should he, and he’s a secure player that is working on his craft and the returns on that, he knows with his life wisdom that the returns will be very favorable.”
Besides Waddle, it would be a down season overall for Miami after a few seasons of an explosive offense led by Tagovailoa, Hill, and others under McDaniel.
The Dolphins are looking to improve after finishing with an 8-9 record, which put them second in the AFC East. Miami opens up the new season on Sunday, Sept. 7, against the Indianapolis Colts, but first, the team will have its...
