In Bo Nix's preseason debut this year -- his first football game since breaking his ankle -- he rifled a ball to Jaylen Waddle, who had won on a vertical route up the middle of the field. Waddle caught it and sped away from his defender, a 35-yard gain. The Denver crowd erupted, even for a preseason game.
This is what they had wanted so badly, the missing piece for a team that was on the doorstep of a Super Bowl berth last year. Welcome to Denver, @D1__JW‼️📺: 9NEWS pic.twitter.com/qvxiByZBAl Denver needed explosiveness. Waddle brought it in bunches.
This was the start of a beautiful marriage. After another eyesore offensive performance from Denver in which Waddle was hardly involved (four catches, 24 yards), we revisit the deal this offseason that came with seemingly so much promise ... and wonder if Waddle and Nix can get on track. The Dolphins were in the midst of a massive teardown that included the release of Tyreek Hill, Tua Tagovailoa and Bradley Chubb.
Miami, 27, was neither as old as Hill or Chubb nor as costly as Tagovailoa, but Miami opted to wipe the slate as clean as possible, and Denver seemed to be the perfect home. Adding the speed and explosiveness of Waddle to a group that included a big-bodied possession receiver (Sutton) and several ancillary pieces was going to unlock Nix, the Broncos thought. The supposed "perfect combination" has actually been, for the most part early this season, very little combination.
Through six games, Waddle has 22 catches for 228 yards and one touchdown. His 10.4 yards per reception are on pace to be his worst number since his rookie year. Waddle has played a large role in that last line.
He has four drops already this season after three all of last year. He came to Denver with a 6.1% career drop rate (which already wasn't great), but he is at a very bad 10.8% this year. The preseason wasn't the only false hope.
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