Wes Welker explains plan to take Jaylen Waddle to the next level
Jaylen Waddle is coming off a breakout season for the Miami Dolphins, but new wide receivers coach Wes Welker believes he can help the former Alabama Crimson Tide star reach the next level.
“That kid is top notch. Ton of talent. Speed. Passion for the game,” Welker said Wednesday, via Joe Schad of Palm Beach Post. “That’s what you want to work with. I’m excited to work with him and hopefully take him to the next level.”
Waddle recorded 104 receptions for 1,015 yards and six touchdowns last season.
Jaylen Waddle and Tua finding chemistry
With quarterbacks reuniting with their top college receiving threat all over the NFL landscape, the Miami Dolphins elected to draft Waddle with the sixth-overall pick in last year’s NFL Draft. And that is one of the reasons Pro Football Focus included him in their most meaningful rookie wide receivers list heading into 2021.
Jaylen Waddle only got to play with Tua Tagovailoa for two seasons at Alabama. In the 2018 season, Waddle had a good year, given all the talent Alabama had at wideout. He caught 45 passes for 848 yards and seven touchdowns. Although Waddle was a freshman and Tagovailoa was a sophomore in 2018, they showed they had great chemistry on the field. In 2019 they were set to build on their chemistry from last year. However, Tagovailoa went down midway through the season with an injury.
They finally got to showcase that chemistry in 2021 and the Dolphins’ almost snuck into the playoffs after an impressive winning streak to end the season.
In Tagovailoa’s rookie year, he struggled to find consistency on the field. That led many to speculate on his status with the Dolphins. Clearly the two developed a clear chemistry in 2021 which should point to optimism in the future.
Few quarterbacks face the same level of pressure as Tua Tagovailoa in Miami this season,” said PFF after his rookie campaign. “Tagovailoa finished his rookie year ranked just 27th out of 32 qualifying quarterbacks in PFF grade (65.4), leading to chatter this offseason about whether Miami would be in the right to select another quarterback early in the 2021 NFL Draft.”
More than anything else Jaylen Waddle has world-class speed and agility. This deadly combo makes him a nightmare for defenders in the open field and a formidable deep threat. In his 2018 season, Waddle had an average of nearly 10 yards after the catch. At 9.8 that was good enough for tops in the country. According to PFF, “The most obvious place speed shows up is in Waddle’s ability to win vertically as a deep threat. He brought in an absurd 21 of 26 targets 20-plus yards downfield over the past three seasons at Alabama.”