Why Jaylen Waddle was the right pick at number 6
Why did Miami trade down from 3 and give up the chance to take Ja’Marr Chase or Kyle Pitts?
I’m not going to libel Chase or Pitts here in order to prove a point. Chase has nearly everything you want in a wide receiver. He’s an elite athlete with the ball-hawking prowess of DeAndre Hopkins. If Joe Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase can recreate any of their 2019 chemistry, the Bengals will be must-see-TV.
One thing Waddle has that Chase does not is a cheat-code level of speed. Daniel Jeremiah of NFL Network said last month, “Waddle had the fastest GPS [time] of any receiver in the country.” This is what translates into the YAC numbers he puts up. Seeing Miami was 30th in the league in YAC last season, Grier has clearly made it a priority. Mike Gesicki and Devante Parker are both very good possession receivers but running with the football isn’t their strength.
The electric factor in a receiver (Tyreek Hill, A.J. Brown, OBJ of 2015) skews the defense, forcing it to cover what could happen, not so much what is likely to happen. For instance, Tyreek Hill almost always sees off-coverage unless there’s a safety right over top to pick him up. This doesn’t mean he goes deep on every play, far from it. All it takes is touching a hot stove once to alter your behavior. The same logic applies in football. Defenses have to account for Hill’s whereabouts at all times, creating softer coverage for other pass catchers.
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As for Kyle Pitts, he might be the most sure-fire future All-Pro of this year’s draft class. With an 83 3/8″ wingspan, he uses every bit of his length to outreach defenders for the football. If you were to build the optimal red zone target in a lab, it’d look a lot like Pitts. Likewise, if you wanted someone who could guard him, you’d have to build them in a lab. That unicorn doesn’t exist. Derwin James is probably the closest there is.
Regardless of Pitts’ talent, he wouldn’t be the greatest fit in Miami, given the way the offense is currently constructed. He and Gesicki would be nightmare matchups, no doubt. But with them both being below-average run blockers, having both guys on the field at the same time would all but telegraph an upcoming pass-play.