It’s more of a cherry on top but Waddle is probably the NFL’s best punt returner from day 1.
That being said Smith is my favorite WR. Just a stone cold assassin. Chase is fantastic in his own right. To some extent it just depends on the flavor of WR that you prefer.
Yeah he is my favorite of the top 3 IF we do end up going receiver.
your posts influenced who I wanted a couple of years ago, bro. I’m on board with this too. LOL.
Agree with all this… and more.
Tracks deep balls very well, and can high point the ball well.
Instant acceleration reminds of Tyreke, and his ability to eliminate the angle against SEC DBs is rare.
He might be just a step behind Ruggs and Tyreke over 40 yards… but still going to blow by most guys in space. Will definitely keep at least 1 safety honest (20 yards deep kind of honest) on every play.
I feel like teams make the same mistake year after year chasing speed over other traits. The list of speedy short guys who are picked high seems long. Off the top of my head:
Tavon Austin
Philip Dorsett
Corey Coleman
John Ross
Curtis Samuel
Parris Campbell
Andy Isabella
Henry Ruggs
Take Andy Isabella, he ran a 4.31 40. Are you going to take Andy Isabella top 10? He was drafted like the second round and quite honestly I’m not seeing the difference except that maybe Waddle is more explosive (maybe Waddle is taller but still like 5’10" and Andy Isabella was pretty explosive in college and actually played the position with some craft too.
I value all of your opinions, so I guess I’m going to have to take a closer look to see what you all are seeing. But I just prefer guys that are all around good players and have honed their craft as a WR with the size, speed, and hands to do it all. I’ll take these slot types that can return kicks later on.
I just have trouble naming one guy like this who justified his draft position in the top 10-15 picks. There are busts with all different types, but I can’t think of one that was worth the top 10 pick. Beckham was pick 11 but I don’t see him the same. Maybe I’m wrong.
And here is the thing: how many players can be Tyreek Hill? Man that is a tall order to fill. Maybe Waddle is that dude, but history says the odds are small.
I don’t think I’d recommend borrowing his keyboard!
There’s really only one Tyreek, he’s a unicorn almost as much as Barry is/was.
It’s interesting that I come away with exactly the opposite feeling when watching the highlights. I see a guy that way to often lets the ball come to him instead of going out to get it with his hands.
Not sure that can be coached because I see a TON of NFL WR’s do it all the time. I seriously downgrade WR’s that do this.
I think Davonta Smith reminds me more of Odell Beckham. Both are elite route runners and fast. Waddle reminds me more of Hill.
Waddle can run the route tree better then Hill coming out, but he’s probably not as fast as Hill.
Again, there’s only one Tyreek.
Name another WR that is identical?..you can’t.
Regardless I think Waddle is a really good receiver.
I’m all for Micah Parsons or Waddle even if we can’t trade back. My 2 favorite needs and picks for lions draft
Chase sat out the season. Waddle limped through the National Championship game for his team as a top 10 pick no matter what. I do not see that type of toughness/dedication in Chase, though I’m certainly not saying Chase isn’t tough or dedicated. Just if I’m looking at it, I do ding Chase a bit for willingly sitting out after just watching the KG milking (IMHO), and I do give Waddle a plus for toughing it out. Perhaps that’s not fair of me.
I do not see the same level of suddenness with Chase either. It’s not just the straight line speed, which is special, it’s his vision and feet that come into play. I like the other two guys Smith especially. I just think Chase and Smith will struggle MORE to be what they are now at the NFL level, due to deficiencies in their game, compared to that true top 5 type WR who is 6’4 230 and runs like a deer.
Waddle on the other hand is defense stretcher and home run hitter from day one. At Slot, on gadgets, in the return game, even out of the backfield. He can line up outside certainly at 5’10, but I’d rather deploy him like Lynn deployed Keenan Allen, who caught 100 passes last year. You give Jaylen Waddle that many opportunities and a lot of big plays are going to happen starting day one.
Say both Carolina and Denver want a QB. We are at 7 with the last two guys Fields/Lance on the board. I think we can get a third rounder out of one of them, still get Waddle and have four day 2 picks. Three of them high in the round.
I feel like teams make the same mistake year after year chasing speed over other traits. The list of speedy short guys who are picked high seems long. Off the top of my head:
Tavon Austin
Philip Dorsett
Corey Coleman
John Ross
Curtis Samuel
Parris Campbell
Andy Isabella
Henry Ruggs
This is definitely a valid concern.
Speed alone does not make the player.
But take a look at that list of players.
Tavon Austin, Dorsett, Coleman, Samuel, and Campbell were pretty limited as route runners in college. Most of their production came on WR screens, pop passes, and quick in breaking routes with less than 10 air yards required. No ball skills needed. Look at a the deep balls they caught, and most are bombs that resemble catching a punt… against DBs simply overmatched by their speed. This group didn’t have the complete WR skill set in my opinion.
Isabella played against inferior competition for the most part. He did light Georgia up for a big game that really helped his draft stock… but he basically ran past guys and caught “punts” behind the defense in that game. I also don’t see the sudden acceleration and change of direction for Isabella in comparison to Waddle. He seems to be a little more of a “straight line” speed guy.
John Ross did have more of an ability to run routes and more polish as a WR in college.
The knock on him was injuries in college… and he has not been able to shake them in the NFL.
However, I still didn’t see him make many contested catches that displayed an ability to high point the ball or play through contact. I give Waddle the advantage here.
Even though they played for same offense, Ruggs had more limited route running and didn’t display the ability to high point balls in the same way Waddle displayed on several of his deeper routes.
Ruggs has Waddle in terms of 40 time, and Waddle admitted he got beat in a race by a step in a race. But on film I think Waddle displays more elusiveness… and that is where I can see the Tyreke Hill comparison.
Not saying he is Tyreke!
Tyreke probably has 2 steps on Waddle in terms of long speed.
Tyreke is also a little quicker in terms change of direction and accel/decel.
But… I think Waddle may have the next best combo of speed, quickness, and true WR skills.
The OP compared Waddle to Beckham… and that is fair to a degree.
I think Waddle is slightly quicker to top speed, but Beckham has a little more size and an edge on ball skills in the air.
Regardless of differences between Tyreke, Odell, and Waddle… I think it is fair to say that Waddle has the athleticism and WR skills to be a big-time difference maker. I think he is guy that a team can manufacture touches on short plays (WR screens, jet sweeps, end around, shallow crosses)… but also a guy that can be a weapon down the field on more than just a go route. Tyreke is most dangerous on the deep over route… and that is what I think Waddle can give a team as well.
And lastly… on 3rd down and 5 yards… I think Waddle could be REALLY tough to cover on option routes from the slot… much like the Chiefs do with Tyreke.
I think you nailed it. Waddle is not an exact duplicate of Beckham. Noone is. And I don’t expect Waddle to come out and have 1,300+ yards and 10+ TDs in production. That was a special situation and even the real OBJ is struggling to have that kind of production again. But so much of the explosive playmaker elements are there, particularly the ability to make them on all levels (reverses, screens, slants and deep balls).
First, I think what intrigued people about Andy was the film. The speed as just a bonus and I think even when he ran his blistering 40 most of us didn’t buy all the way into it. Andy was definitely not some speed demon that had to be taught how to play football, we consistently viewed him as a Danny Amendola type on this board. That being said, I don’t think many of us thought he would go in the 2nd round. We thought we were evaluating a mid round prospect. And to bring it home, why in the hell did the Cardinals take him in the 2nd round if they aren’t going to get him on the field and give him targets? It makes no sense to me.
Looks like a baller I like it
Here is a write up from PFF’s Michael Renner.
Renner’s final mock draft from 2020 correctly predicted Ruggs as the 1st WR off the board, and he also had Jalen Reagor and Brandon Aiyuk getting picked in the 1st round.
2. JAYLEN WADDLE, ALABAMA (JUNIOR)
There was no better receiver in the country through four games this season than Waddle. Before he broke his ankle, Waddle had posted four straight 100-plus yard games. He posted a perfect passer rating when targeted in three of them, averaged 22.3 yards per catch and produced a ridiculous 10.7 yards after the catch per reception. Quite simply, he was the biggest home-run threat in college football.
With low-4.3 speed that may even creep into the 4.2s, don’t expect that to change once he gets to the NFL. I feel so confident about Waddle’s skills translating to the league because of the way he attacks the football. He’s made 10 contested catches on 15 such targets over the course of his Alabama career. That’s an absurd rate for a “speed” receiver.
After my post yesterday… I kind of wondered if I was a little too optimistic about what I thought on Waddle’s ability. I had not really read too many recent scouting reports, so was happy to see that opinion from PFF.