The Denver Broncos have been talking up their young receivers for months, but the Waddle trade sends a mixed message.
The Denver Broncos finally made a big move that went beyond re-signing their own players as free agency opened, and it’s a strange one that could easily be called a “Sean Payton special” from Denver’s occasionally mercurial coach. Payton stayed the course early on, working carefully with GM George Paton to retain nearly all of the players who might leave.
Now Payton has made a huge trade, and that’s where the strange part comes into play. Rather than add the playmaker the Broncos need at either tight end or running back, Payton took a big swing for receiver Jaylen Waddle, ignoring the team’s fundamental needs at those two positions for a player the Broncos may not actually need.
The trade sends an especially mixed message to the receiving room. Payton and Paton have been talking up the Broncos young receivers for some time now, which makes sense given that Troy Franklin, Pat Bryant and Marvin Mims Jr. are all still performing well on their rookie contracts. Now they’ve been preempted by Waddle, who was a star in Miami but has suffered in recent years due to the precipitous decline of both quarterback Tua Tagovailoa and fellow receiver Tyreek Hill.
The numbers reflect the oddness of this move. Troy Franklin had a breakout season in many ways, with 65 catching for 709 yards and six touchdowns, and given his youth, it’s not out of the question that yet another jump could happen, especially in his yards per catch. Waddle's numbers in Miami last season were similar, with the difference coming in both total yardage and yards her catch, with Waddle's numbers being slightly higher. Rookie Pat Bryant’s numbers were basically the same as those of Franklin during his first season, so yet another jump seems within reach for him as well.
In Payton’s defense, it’s easy to see what the football philosophy is here with this trade. Pair Waddle with a better quarterback who can throw downfield, which the Broncos certainly have in Bo Nix, and it gives the former Miami wideout a chance to resurface as an offensive star.
Will it work? That’s the big question going forward, especially since the Broncos gave up a ton of draft capital to get Waddle. That might not matter as much given Denver’s draft position, but this is a trade that came from out of nowhere.
It seems apparent that Payton didn’t think much of the tight ends the Broncos might target via trade or in the draft, and you can make the argument that tight end isn’t a game-breaking position anyway unless you find the next Brock Bowers.
The argument against going for a more prominent running back is different, given that running backs are often overdrafted and you can supposedly find a decent one anywhere.
It’s a big gamble that seems especially aggressive after Denver’s passive early approach to free agency, and there’s no way to know if it will work until we actually see it on the field.