A comically repetitive cycle that an NFL fan of any team will observe if they pay close enough attention is the way fans value their favorite team's players versus how they view players from a different franchise. When the Miami Dolphins' Jaylen Waddle was being floated in trade talks before being dealt to the Denver Broncos, you wouldn't have to look too hard to find takes about him being worth two first-round picks, minimum, from Dolphins fans.
Conversely, Bills fans, Broncos fans, or any other teams linked to Waddle were quick to say he was worth a second-round pick at the most, citing whatever talking points they could muster. It's like clockwork. It's this way each and every time. We're all fans for a reason — we're fanatical for our favorite teams. Naturally, the value lay somewhere in the middle as the Dolphins ultimately got a first- and third-round pick from Denver along with a fourth-round pick swap.
Surprisingly, this trade was viewed as pretty fair value for both sides. Waddle is most likely a better player than anyone the Broncos could've had at pick No. 30, and they were one Bo Nix ankle injury from a Super Bowl berth in 2025. In Mike Sando's latest piece for The Athletic, however, he quoted an unnamed NFL executive who isn't so sure about Waddle in Denver.
"Denver wants to give Bo Nix his best chance with a new (play caller), so take your shot,” [an] exec said of adding the 185-pound wideout. “But you’d better know some of the flaws. Availability is a concern, and Waddle does not exactly exude toughness. Maybe your culture changes that."
Former Miami Dolphins WR Jaylen Waddle's toughness concerns are difficult to explain away
The mere premise of calling NFL football players "not tough" is asinine on its face. These modern-day gladiators suit up and go to battle — for boatloads of money, yes — while carrying the inherent risk of injuring themselves in a sport that has a 100% injury rate. Now, as it relates to availability, it's a fair question to ask.
When you watch all of your team's games, you see each development that doesn't make a statistical mark. Each time a player hobbles off the field, each time the player runs two plays and sits out the third, you clock these moments in your mind and create a perception of how much time a player spends on the sidelines. This is why looking simply at games played can be deceiving.
I went into the lab and jotted down Waddle's playing time compared to some of his peers to determine whether this critique was warranted. As a noted Jaylen Waddle believer, let's just say it was hard to believe the results.
Wide Receiver | Average % of Snaps Played (2023-2025) | Full Games Missed |
|---|---|---|
Jaylen Waddle | 66.3% | 6 |
Ja'Marr Chase | 87.8% | 3 |
Amon-Ra St. Brown | 86.4% | 1 |
Justin Jefferson | 78.8% | 7 |
CeeDee Lamb | 72% | 6 |
Yes, those LSU dudes are just built different. More importantly for the sake of this article, though, is the fact that it seems like Waddle misses a lot more time than his counterparts do. It's not that he's missed a lot of games. It's the fact that even when he does play, he hardly eclipses 80% of snaps.
For some of his fellow receivers, that number is usually over 90%, with their averages only brought down slightly by their games missed. That begs the question: was it a usage/coaching issue, or was it a matter of stamina or supposed "toughness"? Waddle will have every opportunity to answer that very question in 2026 for the Broncos.
Few fans will have a negative memory of the Penguin in Miami, and while it'll be hard to see him suit up for another team, we have no choice but to believe it was for the best. Most Dolphins fans would love to see him succeed with a strong-armed quarterback after being hamstrung with Tua Tagovailoa for the entirety of his career. Except for when the Broncos visit Hard Rock Stadium, that is.