7 things we learned in the Miami Dolphins dominating win over the Saints
By Matt Serniak
You folks are lucky I’m bringing this to your attention because there’s no way you would know that Jaylen Waddle is quite literally the entire offense for the Dolphins. The Dolphins may run it here and there and you might even see Tua throw the ball to other guys from time to time. But make no mistake, everything is about getting the ball into Jaylen Waddle’s hands.
To give you some perspective on just how amazing Jaylen Waddle has been, view this tweet.
Jaylen Waddle last night:
— Field Yates (@FieldYates) December 28, 2021
- Had 10 catches, tying Jerry Rice for the most ever by a rookie on MNF
- Became the 3rd rookie ever with 8+ catches in 4 straight games
- Moved to 96 catches on the season. He needs 6 in the next 2 games to set the rookie record for most ever (102) pic.twitter.com/HIhOTsqdmY
For you youngins out there, Jerry Rice is kind of a big deal. He’s kind of, potentially, the greatest football player not just receiver because there’s no doubt about that, but the greatest football player of all time. If you’re all for saying Dan Marino is the greatest due to what he did during his era, then you need to bring that same energy when discussing Jerry Rice.
Waddle is on the verge of having the most catches for a rookie receiver of all time. Decent chance he’ll have that by halftime on Sunday.
What makes Jaylen Waddle such a force is his toughness. How many times a game do we see Waddle catch a ball and get lit up only to pop back up. He’s not a large guy but he certainly plays like it. He gives off major Steve Smith vibes with that dawg mentality.
The best part is that we all know that we haven’t seen everything he can do. We got a glimpse of it in the Panther’s game but that barely a taste. Imagine a world where the offensive one can actually block for 2.8 seconds. In that world, we’ll be able to see what Jaylen Waddle is truly capable of in the NFL. It will be more than six yards catches.
I love the direction of how the staff is using Waddle near the goalline and how they used him out of the backfield. I hope they keep playing that way with lining Waddle up in the backfield and moving him in and out of it. It puts pressure on the defense and if the line blocks can open up the middle of the field for Mike Gesicki and DeVante Parker. That’s the next step for this current offense; exploring that matchup.