Jaylen Waddle’s ranking among NFL pass catchers as the Dolphins’ renewed WR1 without Tyreek Hill may surprise you

Waddle's play has really only had one red mark on the ledger, a bobbled target to open Miami's Week 6 contest against the Chargers that ultimately resulted in an interception and points for Los Angeles. It was a wonky play that certainly should have been caught by Waddle despite the awkward timing of the play.

But Waddle more than made up the difference with two spectacular plays for Miami, including a spinning circus catch for a 45-yard reception before halftime to earn the Dolphins three points before halftime. The reception was a spinning effort to track the football on a throw from QB Tua Tagovailoa put over his outside shoulder.

Waddle posted a high-concentration catch down the stretch against the Chargers as well, reacting late through contact to haul in a tipped pass for a chunk gain.

Two games into Waddle's resumed WR1 role and he's at or near the top in a number of categories. His 205 receiving yards ranks fourth among NFL wide receivers between Weeks 5 & 6, trailing only George Pickens, Jaxson Smith-Njigba, and Kendrick Bourne, who is thriving with essentially every receiver in San Francisco banged up. Waddle's 12 receptions are tied for seventh in the NFL over that period of time. He's posted back-to-back games with a 40+ yard reception, he's only achieved that feat three other times in his career — Weeks 15 & 16 in 2023, Weeks 15 & 16 in 2022, and Weeks 1-3 in 2022.

Jaylen Waddle's first two weeks as a renewed WR1 without Tyreek Hill

• 17 targets, 12 receptions (70% catch rate)
• 205 receiving yards (4th in the NFL the last two weeks)
• Two 40+ yard receptions
• Top-5 in EPA/target among NFL wide receivers the last two weeks (0.75 EPA/target)

But the expanded metrics for Waddle tell an even better story. Waddle has posted an 'Expected Points Added' (EPA) per target total thank ranks fifth in the NFL over the last two weeks among all wide receivers with at least 12 targets. He trails Pickens, DeVonta Smith, Stefon Diggs, and Smith-Njigba.

Remember, this is without Tyreek Hill in the picture!

He's averaging an air-yards per target figure in excess of 15 yards downfield. He's only had four such games since the start of the 2023 season prior to the last two weeks. He's winning down the field, he's catching an exceptionally high amount of his targets, and he's doing so without the gravitational pull of Tyreek Hill to play off of in the offense.

There's not a lot of things going right for Miami this season. Jaylen Waddle's reemergence is one of them — even with an unfortunate miscue to open Week 6.

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