NFL Draft: Alabama’s Jaylen Waddle is WR1 in loaded class

Where Waddle Wins

The question instead, should be where doesn’t Waddle win.

From every level of the field, from the slot or outside the numbers, underneath or over the top, Waddle absolutely dominates when he steps on the gridiron. He is especially strong at the catchpoint, throwing out any fears about his size as he plays huge.

Waddle absolutely thrives at dominating at the catchpoint. Despite his size, Waddle puts his explosiveness on display, leaping up and hauling in passes down the field. Waddle shows the comfortability to keep the ball away from his chest when reeling in passes and has the tremendous knack to pluck balls outside of his frame as well. With limited reps in traffic (because he is always open), Waddle possesses the toughness to reel in passes through contact and with muddied vision.

He defines suddenness and precision as he runs his routes. He does not waste any movement either off the line of scrimmage at the top of his routes. His route tree is ultra-diverse, not pinning him to being strictly a vertical threat. He can win in the slot as well as outside the numbers as well. Waddle thrives at working back to the football and is insanely fluid for how blazing fast he is. He can come off of breaks even as steep as 90 and 45 degrees without losing a second of acceleration. Waddle stems defensive backs at a high level in order to open the hips of defensive backs before breaking them back off.

Even facing press-man coverage on the outside, Waddle has the ability to win off the line of scrimmage with subtle and active feet. As he works vertically down the field, Waddle is well-equipped to stack defensive backs, and as a burner, he has no issue separating deep down the field. He wastes no movements at the top of his routes, creating hesitation in the defensive back, before he works vertically again (and then is not afraid to twist the defensive back a second time on the same route). Vertical, underneath, outside the numbers, and everywhere. Waddle can win at every level of the field.

Waddle is the most explosive weapon in the country with the ball in his hands. He is not only elusive in the open field, but is slippery as well, as he can run through tackles as well. He is an elite angle buster, as he beats opposing defenders to the edge. Waddle’s stop-start acceleration is outrageous as he can put his foot in the ground, make a man miss in the open field, and still hit the jets in the blink of an eye. Waddle possesses great vision as well, making him a top threat in this draft.