WR · DEN · GWTTKB

Jaylen Waddle — fantasy football 2026

Every game, every stat category, and what the board says. 12.13 points per game in 2025, an ADP of 51.5, usage worth 10.7.

27 years old · 5 seasons of experience · 2021 draft class

Updated 2026-08-16 · free, no account, no paywall
Every figure below comes from our database. Where a stat is not held, the row is absent rather than zero.
ADP 51.5
Consensus across 4 books, standard deviation 7.1, 16.4 picks between cheapest and priciest. Cheapest on espn, priciest on underdog.
SLEEPER47.8
ESPN60.7
YAHOO44.3
UNDERDOG38.3
CBS53.2
FFA46

Draft-room facts

Goes aroundRound 5, pick 4 in a 12-team draft
Positional rankWR21
Bye week10
ADP standard deviation7.1 picks

What we project for 2026

Our board has him at 215.4 points, 13.1 per game — 74.6 catches, 1,044 yards, 5.6 TDs. That is WR3, 46 overall.

The range runs from a floor of 10.4 points per game to a ceiling of 17.8, with the median at 13.1. Boom rate 36%, bust rate 20%. The spread is the actual bet, not the middle number.

He goes at 51.5 on consensus and our board has him 46. We rank him 5.5 picks better than the room drafts him, so the market is underpricing him — that is the disagreement worth acting on.

Our written view

acknowledged as legitimately talented, just not loved in this specific spot — Denver spreads the ball to far more players per game than a concentrated offense would, and Sutton remains real target competition, not name-only. Multi-year pattern of being talked about as a breakout candidate and then simply not doing much with expanded opportunity, including a stretch last year when the presumed unlock (a Tyreek Hill injury) actually happened and he still didn't take over.

hold · medium conviction · 2026-08

The offense he plays in, 2026

Denver Broncos returns 4 of 6 continuity slots, replacing wr1, oc. Bo Nix at quarterback, Sean Payton as head coach, Davis Webb calling it. The offense projects to 35 pass attempts a game at medium confidence and 26.4 rushes.

In: Jaylen Waddle (wr1), Lil'Jordan Humphrey (wr6), Dane Key (wr7), Jonah Coleman (rb3).

His own projected target share for 2026 is 9.8%, with a bear case of 8.5% and a bull case of 11.4% and a full range of 6% to 13.3%. That comes from 29 historical comparables, not from a depth chart.

The projected target split across the offense:

Courtland Sutton19.7%
Troy Franklin10.9%
Jaylen Waddle 9.8%
RJ Harvey9%
Evan Engram8.3%
Pat Bryant7.6%

Our written view on this offense in 2026

What the offense looks like: The Jaylen Waddle trade is probably bad for Waddle & Suttons value. It is likely worse for Sutton than Waddle though. The RB room is also nearly impossible to predict. What we do know: if a RB is featured on this offense they are a weekly RB1, but JK Dobbins, Harvey, and now Coleman will be difficult to trust when all three are healthy. WR 3 - WR 6 on Denver all are promising young WR and could be potential trade targets for WR needy teams early in 2026.

Key additions: A key add is Broncos QB coach Davis Webb was promoted to OC & will handle play calling in 2026. Webb was a potential head coach candidate & Denver maintains a great weapon on their coaching staff. Broncos traded 1st round pick for WR Jaylen Waddle from dolphins. He will likely function as teams WR1. Broncos also drafted RB Jonah Coleman in the 4th round from washington & TE Justin Joly in the 5th round.

Key departures: No key departures on offense

Notes: Bo Nix will be 100% healthy by camp following foot injury in NFL playoffs. Broncos traded their 2026 1st round pick for Dolphins WR Jaylen Waddle. This will significantly reduce Sutton's role as the alpha in the offense. Pat Bryant & Troy Franklin will likely have trade interest but if they stay on the team will have reduced roles. Broncos backfield is incredibly difficult to project & will need to be monitored all summer. Denver extended JK Dobbins & Drafted Jonah Coleman in the 5th round. Dobbins expected to be 1A and Harvey 1B, with Coleman as reserve, but Sean Payton as HC can do whatever he wants. Broncos drafted TE Justin Joly in the 5th round who has a small chance to be relevant because Evan Engram is legit trash

How the volume number was reached: Same QB Bo Nix returning — anchor to 2025 actuals (36 att/g); Regressed 42% toward league mean 33.5, floored at 30 → 35 att/g; New OC Davis Webb — pass rate and tempo may shift.

How that share projection was built

29 historical comps for WRs age ~26, prior share 21.0%, team change, OC change. Distribution: median 13.4%, p25-p75 [9.7%, 17.8%], tails [2.6%, 23.3%]. Closest comps: Corey Davis 2020→2021 (TEN→NYJ: 21.7%→18.5%); Brandin Cooks 2022→2023 (HOU→DAL: 23.4%→14.3%); Jakobi Meyers 2022→2023 (NE→LV: 24.0%→20.6%). Adjustment: flat from opportunity_breakout (volume must hold)

arrival self-anchored 41% to own 21.0% role (3yr)

The named comps are the closest historical matches and the arrow is what their share actually did the following season. That is the working, not a summary of it — if you disagree with the projection, this is the part to argue with.

Offensive environment: DEN rates 22.9 against a league average of 23, 0.1 below it on opponent-adjusted least squares (multi-capture merge).

2026 schedule

Opponent-adjusted pass defense faced, against 2025 ratings. Positive is an easier slate.

Full season-2.6 · harder
Weeks 1–6-4.8 · harder
Weeks 12–17+0.8 · neutral
Fantasy playoffs (15–17)-9.2 · harder

Read this narrowly. Our own testing found that season-long strength of schedule does not survive as a draft input — defensive quality is among the least stable team properties year to year, and a preseason slate is built on last year's identities. The playoff-weeks column is the only one we would let break a tie, and even then it is a tiebreaker rather than a reason. The finding.

Read the full Jaylen Waddle study →

Dynasty context not redraft

Everything in this section is about his dynasty trade value — what he is worth as a long-term asset in the trade market. It is not a forecast of his 2026 fantasy scoring. A player can be a fine redraft pick while his dynasty value falls, and the reverse. The redraft read is above; this is a different question with a different answer.

Where he sits in the dynasty value cycle

His dynasty value has moved +7.1% over the last twelve months. The market cycle classifies him as stable.

For context on how long this lasts at the position: the average career at his position produces 2.1 elite seasons and 2.6 startable seasons.

The five most similar seasons, and what their dynasty value did next

Matched on production profile — production-driven (pedigree ignored). The last column is how that player’s dynasty value moved the following year — a market outcome, not a scoring one.

PlayerSeasonTheir PPGSimilarityNext year
DK Metcalf202412.773%-4.3%
Michael Pittman202410.473%+14.8%
Terry McLaurin20231272%+39.7%
Marquise Brown202310.472%-4.9%
Mike Evans202417.268%-16.5%

Of the 5 with a following season on record, 2 gained value, 3 lost it and 0 held roughly flat.

Four years of dynasty value

02,0004,0006,00020222023202420252026
Monthly superflex value, 2021-04 to 2026-07. Down 10% across the series, peaking at 6,985.

The player

Draft capital and athletic profile

Drafted2021, round 1, pick 6 by MIA
CollegeAlabama
Age at draft22

Availability and volatility

Career PPR per game13.1
Week-to-week variation0.6
Boom rate19%
Bust rate22.2%
Games missed per season0.4
Injury historyAnkle, Knee
Correlation between his posted line and his actual score0.13

That correlation is how closely the books’ posted line tracked what he actually scored, week to week. A higher number means the market has him figured out and there is less to exploit; a lower one means his weeks are harder to price.

Injury type matters more than games missed. Measured across our injury database, knee and foot returns stay below a player’s pre-injury baseline for all three of the first games back, while hamstring returns over-recover by the third.

The record, season by season

2025 · MIA · 16 games

His best game was Week 5 against CAR — 23 PPR on 9 targets and a 26.5% target share, in a game that finished 24-27. His worst was Week 17 against TB at 0.7, on 1 targets, final score 20-17. Across 16 games he cleared 20 points 2 times and came in under 8 points 6 times. In the 7 games decided by 8 points or fewer he averaged 11.5; in the 9 decided by more, 12.6. He scored more when the game was not close.

Earned against scored

His usage that season was worth 10.7 points per game. He scored 12.13, 13.7% above it. The engine classified the season as lucky.

WkOppScorePPRRecTgtYdsTDTgt%Snap%
1IND8-3374530016.1%65%
2NE27-3317.85668118.8%82%
3BUF21-3114.95639118.2%87%
4NYJ27-217.83648024%90%
5CAR24-272369110126.5%89%
6LAC27-2915.826895026.7%78%
7CLE6-312.51415013.3%76%
8ATL34-1020.95699122.2%78%
9BAL6-2814.26982024.3%80%
10BUF30-1319.45784133.3%83%
11WAS16-138.23752035%84%
13NO21-1773640030%92%
14NYJ34-1018.15750133.3%78%
15PIT15-284.62426015.4%84%
16CIN21-4512.25972031%71%
17TB20-170.701004.5%25%

Production

Receptions64
Targets100
Receiving yards910
Carries2
Rushing yards28
Touchdowns6
Points per game12.13
Yards per target9.1
Catch rate64%
Yards per carry14

Role

Snap share77.63%
Target share23.29%
Air-yards share42.71%
WOPR0.647
RACR0.772

Efficiency

Average depth of target13.1
Yards after catch per reception3.6
Yards before catch per reception10.7
Total YAC228
Broken tackles4
Drop rate0%
Passer rating when targeted84.2
Receiving EPA per game2.15
Rushing EPA per game0.12

Scoring position

Red-zone targets11
Red-zone target share17.2%
End-zone target share17.4%
Expected receiving TDs3.21
Actual receiving TDs3
Receiving TD luck-0.21

Where that ranked

Against everyone in the 80+ targets pool that season:

Points per game24 of 44
Yards per target10 of 44
Target share19 of 44
Air-yards share3 of 44

Who else ate

The offense threw it 479 times. He took 22.22% of the targets. 1 team-mate cleared the competing-target threshold.

Jaylen Waddle 22.22%
De'Von Achane18.89%
Malik Washington14.44%
Darren Waller7.56%
Greg Dulcich7.33%
Tyreek Hill6.44%

By quarterback

He caught passes from 2 quarterbacks that season, and the splits are not close.

QBGamesTargetsPPGY/TTgt%
Tua Tagovailoa149012.949.3124.08%
Quinn Ewers2106.457.217.75%

Blowouts against close games

7 of his 16 games were blowouts, 48.6% of his snaps coming in them. He averaged 13.47 in those and 11.47 in close games — a meaningful share of his scoring came with the game already decided.

2024 · MIA · 15 games

His best game was Week 12 against NE — 28.4 PPR on 9 targets and a 22.5% target share, in a game that finished 34-15. His worst was Week 15 against HOU at 0, on 2 targets, final score 12-20. Across 15 games he cleared 20 points 2 times and came in under 8 points 6 times. In the 8 games decided by 8 points or fewer he averaged 9.1; in the 7 decided by more, 11. He scored more when the game was not close.

Earned against scored

His usage that season was worth 9.8 points per game. He scored 9.97, 1.7% above it. The engine classified the season as neutral. On receiving touchdowns specifically he finished 1 against 2.24 expected, a gap of -1.2.

WkOppScorePPRRecTgtYdsTDTgt%Snap%
1JAX20-1716.255109013.9%72%
2BUF10-318.54441010.8%72%
3SEA3-246.64526016.1%84%
4TEN12-317.64636028.6%72%
5NE15-108.64846025.8%78%
7IND10-162.1121109.1%86%
8ARI27-288.54645015.8%86%
9BUF27-307.622-417.4%85%
10LA23-158.63657021.4%89%
11LV34-195.7233708.6%78%
12NE34-1528.489144122.5%76%
13GB17-3011.3445308.7%92%
14NYJ32-2620.991299026.7%82%
15HOU12-20002005.1%38%
18NYJ20-3294944024.3%90%

Production

Receptions58
Targets83
Receiving yards744
Carries4
Rushing yards12
Touchdowns2
Points per game9.97
Yards per target8.96
Catch rate69.88%
Yards per carry3

Role

Snap share78.67%
Target share16.32%
Air-yards share24.42%
WOPR0.417
RACR0.942

Efficiency

Average depth of target10
Yards after catch per reception4.1
Yards before catch per reception8.8
Total YAC236
Broken tackles0
Drop rate0.1%
Passer rating when targeted90.6
Receiving EPA per game2.68
Rushing EPA per game-0.01

Scoring position

Red-zone targets11
Red-zone target share12.9%
End-zone target share9.7%
Red-zone carry share2.8%
Expected receiving TDs2.24
Actual receiving TDs1
Receiving TD luck-1.24
Expected rushing TDs0.18

Where that ranked

Against everyone in the 80+ targets pool that season:

Points per game43 of 51
Yards per target15 of 51
Target share47 of 51
Air-yards share40 of 51

Who else ate

The offense threw it 591 times. He took 14.93% of the targets. 3 team-mates cleared the competing-target threshold.

Tyreek Hill21.94%
Jonnu Smith19.96%
De'Von Achane15.65%
Jaylen Waddle 14.93%
Malik Washington6.47%
Raheem Mostert4.14%

By quarterback

He caught passes from 4 quarterbacks that season, and the splits are not close.

QBGamesTargetsPPGY/TTgt%
Tua Tagovailoa105311.5710.9614.09%
Tyler Huntley3238.45.4826.23%
Skylar Thompson156.65.216.1%
Tim Boyle122.15.59.1%

Blowouts against close games

4 of his 15 games were blowouts, 34.2% of his snaps coming in them. He averaged 12.77 in those and 9.06 in close games — a meaningful share of his scoring came with the game already decided.

2023 · MIA · 14 games

His best game was Week 15 against NYJ — 28.2 PPR on 9 targets and a 34.6% target share, in a game that finished 30-0. His worst was Week 16 against DAL at 6.2, on 4 targets, final score 22-20. Across 14 games he cleared 20 points 2 times and came in under 8 points 1 time. In the 6 games decided by 8 points or fewer he averaged 10.4; in the 8 decided by more, 17.1. He scored more when the game was not close.

Earned against scored

His usage that season was worth 12.5 points per game. He scored 14.19, 9.2% above it. The engine classified the season as neutral. On receiving touchdowns specifically he finished 2 against 3.02 expected, a gap of -1.

WkOppScorePPRRecTgtYdsTDTgt%Snap%
1LAC36-3411.84578011.4%64%
2NE24-1712.44686020.7%73%
4BUF20-488.64546014.7%75%
5NYG31-1614.551035135.7%81%
6CAR42-2118.17951130%69%
7PHI17-3112.36663018.8%45%
8NE31-1725.1712121127.3%75%
9KC14-218.43642018.2%54%
11LV20-139.54855022.2%83%
12NYJ34-1319.488114028.6%66%
13WAS45-1510.25852032%61%
14TEN27-2813.96879024.2%82%
15NYJ30-028.289142134.6%67%
16DAL22-206.21450011.1%43%

Production

Receptions72
Targets104
Receiving yards1,014
Carries3
Rushing yards12
Touchdowns4
Points per game14.19
Yards per target9.75
Catch rate69.23%
Yards per carry4

Role

Snap share67%
Target share23.54%
Air-yards share33.97%
WOPR0.591
RACR1.039

Efficiency

Average depth of target10.1
Yards after catch per reception5.8
Yards before catch per reception8.2
Total YAC421
Broken tackles6
Drop rate0%
Passer rating when targeted101.2
Receiving EPA per game3.28
Rushing EPA per game-0.05

Scoring position

Red-zone targets9
Red-zone target share12.5%
End-zone target share20%
Expected receiving TDs3.02
Actual receiving TDs2
Receiving TD luck-1.02

Where that ranked

Against everyone in the 80+ targets pool that season:

Points per game20 of 51
Yards per target9 of 51
Target share25 of 51
Air-yards share20 of 51

Who else ate

The offense threw it 566 times. He took 19.51% of the targets. 1 team-mate cleared the competing-target threshold.

Tyreek Hill32.08%
Jaylen Waddle 19.51%
Durham Smythe8.07%
Cedrick Wilson7.13%
De'Von Achane6.94%
Braxton Berrios6.19%

Blowouts against close games

5 of his 14 games were blowouts, 42.6% of his snaps coming in them. He averaged 16.9 in those and 10.37 in close games — a meaningful share of his scoring came with the game already decided.

2022 · MIA · 17 games

His best game was Week 2 against BAL — 40.1 PPR on 19 targets and a 38% target share, in a game that finished 42-38. His worst was Week 13 against SF at 1.9, on 5 targets, final score 17-33. Across 17 games he cleared 20 points 4 times and came in under 8 points 4 times. In the 11 games decided by 8 points or fewer he averaged 18.6; in the 6 decided by more, 9.2. He scored more when the game was live.

Earned against scored

His usage that season was worth 11.8 points per game. He scored 15.25, 26.2% above it. The engine classified the season as very_lucky. On receiving touchdowns specifically he finished 4 against 2.16 expected, a gap of 1.8.

WkOppScorePPRRecTgtYdsTDTgt%Snap%
1NE20-717.74569116.1%67%
2BAL42-3840.11119171238%80%
3BUF21-1915.146102030%74%
4CIN15-275.92539013.9%86%
5NYJ17-405.33423012.5%76%
6MIN16-2416.9610129022.2%79%
7PIT16-1012.84588014.3%79%
8DET31-2730.689106226.5%76%
9CHI35-3219.55785124.1%72%
10CLE39-1710.64566015.2%74%
12HOU30-1513.551085026.3%62%
13SF17-331.9159014.7%52%
14LAC17-235.12431016.7%84%
15BUF29-3220.437114123.3%69%
16GB20-2625.356143125%74%
17NE21-238.23552012.5%76%
18NYJ11-610.35544018.5%75%

Production

Receptions75
Targets117
Receiving yards1,356
Carries3
Rushing yards26
Touchdowns8
Points per game15.25
Yards per target11.59
Catch rate64.1%
Yards per carry8.67

Role

Snap share73.82%
Target share20.58%
Air-yards share27.09%
WOPR0.498
RACR1.049

Efficiency

Average depth of target11.8
Yards after catch per reception6.8
Yards before catch per reception11.3
Total YAC510
Broken tackles4
Drop rate0.1%
Passer rating when targeted119.5
Receiving EPA per game4.47
Rushing EPA per game0.12

Scoring position

Red-zone targets9
Red-zone target share13.2%
End-zone target share17.9%
Red-zone carry share1.8%
Expected receiving TDs2.16
Actual receiving TDs4
Receiving TD luck1.84
Expected rushing TDs0.12

Where that ranked

Against everyone in the 80+ targets pool that season:

Points per game13 of 51
Yards per target1 of 51
Target share35 of 51
Air-yards share34 of 51

Who else ate

The offense threw it 584 times. He took 21.71% of the targets. 1 team-mate cleared the competing-target threshold.

Tyreek Hill31.54%
Jaylen Waddle 21.71%
Mike Gesicki9.65%
Trent Sherfield9.46%
Raheem Mostert7.79%
Jeffery Wilson4.45%

By quarterback

He caught passes from 3 quarterbacks that season, and the splits are not close.

QBGamesTargetsPPGY/TTgt%
Tua Tagovailoa128817.7212.1522.52%
Skylar Thompson3147.938.514.5%
Teddy Bridgewater21511.411.218.05%

Blowouts against close games

2 of his 17 games were blowouts, 6.1% of his snaps coming in them. He averaged 7.95 in those and 18.57 in close games — his scoring did not depend on garbage time.

2021 · MIA · 16 games

His best game was Week 6 against JAX — 29 PPR on 13 targets and a 27.7% target share, in a game that finished 20-23. His worst was Week 5 against TB at 5.3, on 6 targets, final score 17-45. Across 16 games he cleared 20 points 4 times and came in under 8 points 4 times. In the 6 games decided by 8 points or fewer he averaged 19.2; in the 10 decided by more, 13.3. He scored more when the game was live.

Earned against scored

His usage that season was worth 15.2 points per game. He scored 15.49, 2.1% above it. The engine classified the season as neutral. On receiving touchdowns specifically he finished 6 against 4.03 expected, a gap of 2.

WkOppScorePPRRecTgtYdsTDTgt%Snap%
1NE17-1616.14561118.5%80%
2BUF0-3510.86848019%64%
3LV28-3117.8121358027.7%88%
4IND17-276.33433013.3%79%
5TB17-455.32631015.4%80%
6JAX20-2329101370227.7%93%
7ATL28-3015.37883020%84%
8BUF11-266.941129030.6%94%
9HOU17-916.381083025%87%
10BAL22-1010.14661017.6%88%
11NYJ24-1720.68965126.5%76%
12CAR33-1028.7910137132.3%74%
13NYG20-91891190026.8%77%
16NO20-325.2101292146.2%89%
17TEN3-347.73747018.4%92%
18NE33-2413.75727133.3%90%

Production

Receptions104
Targets140
Receiving yards1,015
Carries2
Rushing yards3
Touchdowns7
Points per game15.49
Yards per target7.25
Catch rate74.29%
Yards per carry1.5

Role

Snap share83.44%
Target share24.89%
Air-yards share25.46%
WOPR0.551
RACR1.187

Efficiency

Average depth of target7.1
Yards after catch per reception4.2
Yards before catch per reception5.5
Total YAC439
Broken tackles4
Drop rate0.1%
Passer rating when targeted87.6
Receiving EPA per game1.26
Rushing EPA per game0.06

Scoring position

Red-zone targets15
Red-zone target share19%
End-zone target share10.7%
Red-zone carry share1.4%
Goal-line carry share3.8%
Expected receiving TDs4.03
Actual receiving TDs6
Receiving TD luck1.97
Expected rushing TDs0.43

Where that ranked

Against everyone in the 80+ targets pool that season:

Points per game13 of 48
Yards per target37 of 48
Target share15 of 48
Air-yards share33 of 48

Who else ate

The offense threw it 615 times. He took 23.41% of the targets. 1 team-mate cleared the competing-target threshold.

Jaylen Waddle 23.41%
Mike Gesicki18.73%
DeVante Parker12.21%
Myles Gaskin10.54%
Durham Smythe6.86%
Albert Wilson6.52%

By quarterback

He caught passes from 2 quarterbacks that season, and the splits are not close.

QBGamesTargetsPPGY/TTgt%
Tua Tagovailoa109318.127.5428.03%
Jacoby Brissett64711.16.6819.67%

Blowouts against close games

5 of his 16 games were blowouts, 31.4% of his snaps coming in them. He averaged 15.54 in those and 19.18 in close games — his scoring did not depend on garbage time.

Ask the Coach about Jaylen Waddle →
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