Tua Tagovailoa is gone, as are many of the Miami Dolphins' high-priced veterans. Jaylen Waddle is not. The quarterback has been replaced by Malik Willis, and while some will say it's a competition for the starting job, everyone knows that Quinn Ewers' future is behind Willis.
Waddle and Tagovailoa were teammates at Alabama. It would make sense that a drop-off in production should be expected out of the gate, and it might be, but it won't last long. Willis will make Waddle a better receiver.
The Dolphins' approach to the offense will be similar to what Mike McDaniel ran in his four seasons, but it will also have more traditional passing plays with Willis under center.
Jaylen Waddle will have much more time to create plays with Malik Willis under center for the Miami Dolphins
We can beat the Tagovailoa issues with a stick for the next five years, and it would be like beating a dead horse. There were limitations, and there were things he did quite well. One of those was his quick release. Willis doesn't have that 2-second zip in his arsenal. That's o.k.
Under Bobby Slowik, the offense is going to slow down. It has to. Tyreek Hill was the speed that made things run. That will be De'Von Achane's job now, but here's the rub. Waddle isn't slow. Where Tagovailoa succeeded, Waddle often suffered.
Debate it all you want, but Tagovailoa was a two-read quarterback who checked down to his third option. In other words, if Hill wasn't open, he looked at Waddle, and if that wasn't open, he checked down. What he didn't consistently do was buy time for his receivers to run routes and improvise.
To some degree, this is on the offensive line, but even when the protection was sound, Tagovailoa could get itchy and get rid of the ball. Willis is going to hold it longer. He isn't going to fling it two seconds into the play. Waddle doesn't need to be reacting to a pass that quickly as a result.
Why does that matter? Because Waddle isn't easy to cover when he can get into the route and get separation or read the defense himself. Those two seconds are incredibly quick. He was good on a two-second offense; he will be better on a four-second one.
Willis' dual-threat ability will create problems for defenses that Tagovailoa couldn't create. Opposing teams can't give up on Willis taking off with the ball, and that will force defenders to break coverages to contain him. That will allow Waddle the opportunity to move around the field and get open. That's why players like Matt Stafford are so good; they can allow their receivers to create lanes by giving them extra time.
Fans shouldn't expect Waddle to carry big reception numbers, but they should expect to see more yardage and an increase in average yards per reception. If Willis can create time by moving around and outside the pocket, Waddle's speed will create holes in the defense that they can both exploit.