There will be no Maxx Crosby debacle at the eleventh (or eleven hundredth) hour to bring Jaylen Waddle back home. He's off to the snowy ski resorts that call the Rocky Mountains home, leaving sunny South Beach and the Miami Dolphins in his rearview mirror. That won't stop folks from reassessing the trade and picking winners and losers, even months after it went through.
The reality is these deals age in real time. Factors that couldn't have been known at the time, like who the Dolphins would replace Waddle with in the draft, are now part of the equation. In the case of that particular question, it was answered with the world's greatest meh imaginable. Even with the Dolphins using the picks they received — on Chris Johnson, Chris Bell, and Trey Moore, respectively — it'll be years until the full story has been written.
There remain a couple of undeniable truths that complicate Miami's evaluation of this particular deal. For starters, many believe Miami should have squeezed more out of the Broncos for a player of Waddle's caliber. Secondly, and perhaps more importantly, the Dolphins may have committed the cardinal sin of auctioning off a valuable asset to the first bidder, rather than the highest one.
Jaylen Waddle trade continues to sting Miami Dolphins fans as the fan-favorite went for less than what many hoped for
By receiving 2026 first, third, and fourth-round picks in return for Waddle and a fourth-round pick, the Dolphins perfectly demonstrated the idea that not all first-round picks are the same. In Denver's case, their first-rounder was the third-worst pick of the first round, No. 30, and their third-rounder was similarly late in the round. These factors should've led to Miami demanding more.
Besides, there was no need to trade one of the team's best players. If Denver balked, the Dolphins could've genuinely just kept him. Sometimes the player is worth more to one franchise than it is to another, and that's perfectly fine. Waddle was never going to be a nuclear head-case player — it's not in his DNA. He was the consummate professional from the minute he entered this city and deserves loads of credit for that fact.
What makes the deal sting much worse, however, is the fact that Jon-Eric Sullivan reportedly didn't shop the offer. Listen to Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer tell it in his own words:
"Trust was a foundational element to the train staying on the tracks through the process, and [Broncos GM George] Paton felt good that [Jon-Eric] Sullivan, without another serious suitor, wouldn’t start shopping his offer around. Paton actually worked with Sullivan’s father, Jerry, the longtime NFL receivers coach, two decades ago in Miami. And the two were on opposite sides of the Packers-Vikings rivalry for 14 years (2007 to ’20), so there was a high level of mutual respect, even if the two didn’t know each other all that well beforehand."
As I wrote when it was initially reported, there is a time and place for fairness and transparency. There's similarly a time and place for maximizing value — which is Sullivan's chief duty to the fans and the Miami Dolphins franchise. Salesmen all around the world are incredulous, wondering how Sullivan could err so greatly. By not shopping the offer, Sullivan left the Dolphins with no way of knowing whether a greater one would've surfaced.
While Sean Payton is surely glad to have taken advantage of the Dolphins' GM's greenness, that does nothing for the Miami Dolphins going forward. Folks continue to weigh in, and the consensus isn't flattering. As hard as it is to stomach, it also makes the Broncos the clear winners of the trade. Bleacher Report's Moe Moton went about regrading some of this offseason's biggest moves. In discussing the Waddle trade, he was generous in giving the Dolphins a B and the Broncos a B+.
"The Broncos took advantage of the Miami Dolphins' rebuild process and picked up their lead receiver from the 2025 season. Waddle played second fiddle to Tyreek Hill for most of his time in Miami. Now, he can be the lead pass-catcher in Denver."
"Waddle will have competition for targets, though. Courtland Sutton, Troy Franklin, Marvin Mims Jr. and Pat Bryant are still on the roster ahead of training camp. Still, the speedy receiver's big-play ability could lead to gaudy weekly numbers and career highs this year ... The Dolphins did what rebuilding teams are supposed to do—add draft capital to infuse the roster with young talent."
While Moton doesn't explain the Dolphins' grade in depth, it can be surmised that the lackluster haul is what kept this from being an A+. In trading a player like Jaylen Waddle, an A+ package should've been the bare minimum. Time will tell whether this becomes a pattern for Jon-Eric Sullivan, though fans will be hoping it was just a blip on the radar years down the road.
Add us as a preferred source on Google