Waddle to the Dolphins? Receiver’s similarities to another top Miami pick is worrisome
The Dolphins have undergone a lot of change in recent years, and much of that has been for the overall good of the organization, but the unintended consequence is the club’s institutional knowledge has fallen by the wayside.
And what does that mean tangibly to a team preparing for the 2021 Draft?
If you ask general manager Chris Grier and coach Brian Flores they might contend it means nothing. They might say the decisions they’re making this week are new and fresh and have nothing to do with what has come before in team history.
Except history matters. Because history provides lessons that more experienced people learn and can carry with them so as to avoid a repeat.
And so I present to you — and the Dolphins brain trust when they read this column in the team’s clip packet Tuesday morning — a lesson in institutional knowledge:
Everyone understands the Dolphins are needing a playmaker (perhaps a tight end at the heights of Kyle Pitts, if they’re lucky) or a receiver (such as Ja’Marr Chase, DeVonta Smith or Jaylen Waddle).
Colleague Adam Beasley presented all the latest speculation on Miami getting or not getting any of those players.
And one scenario discussed is the Dolphins trading down from No. 6 overall and drafting Waddle.
That’s where institutional knowledge-having Mando looks at this possibility and immediately searches for the face palm emoji. Because I was around in 2007.
And I remember Ted Ginn Jr.
And when I look at Waddle, I see a lot of Ginn.
For the benefit of Dolphins employees and team fans not around in 2007: Ginn was an explosive player at Ohio State. He was one of the fastest receivers in the draft. He was a great special teams threat as a returner. And then-Dolphins general manager Randy Mueller picked him in the first round because he felt Miami’s offense needed speed and a threat who could blow the proverbial top off defenses, which was something the team lacked in 2006.
And how does that jibe with 2021?
Waddle was an explosive player at Alabama. He is one of the fastest receivers in this year’s draft. He was a great special threat as a returner. And he would be an answer for a team needing speed and deep-threat ability on the outside.
So am I the only one to see similarities?
But it doesn’t end there.
Waddle has inconsistent hands. Lance Zierlein at NFL.com has noted Waddle “will default to body catches” and “had drops when ball was on top of him quickly out of breaks.”
Zierlein could as easily be describing Ginn.
Waddle by no means comes with prototypical size. He’s 5-9 and change. Ginn also did not have prototypical size in that he was 5-11 (which was good) but weighed only 165 pounds (which was not good).
Getting off the line? Opponents realized Ginn could be bullied a bit, so they pressed him. The Dolphins found a need to often motion Ginn after his rookie year to help him get away from press coverage.
Waddle has not often faced press coverage at Alabama.
And this from one NFL personnel man: When has Waddle been the best receiver on his team?
I had not considered this, but it’s a legitimate fundamental question. And yes, Jerry Jeudy and Henry Ruggs and DeVonta Smith all played ahead of Waddle in 2019. And all are or will soon be first-round picks.
But picking Jaylen Waddle ahead of DeVonta Smith, for example, means picking Alabama’s No. 2 wide receiver ahead of that team’s No. 1 wide receiver and expecting him to become a No. 1 wide receiver in the NFL.
In this regard, Waddle and Ginn are not congruent because Ginn did, in fact, lead the Buckeyes in receptions in 2006.
But if we must go back to the similarities, Ginn injured his ankle on a kickoff return in the national championship game and the injury was a small question in the 2007 Draft. Waddle injured an ankle last season and the injury is a question this draft.
None of this suggests Ginn was a terrible NFL player or that Waddle will be a terrible player. Ginn actually had a productive 14-year professional career.
But he didn’t fulfill Mueller’s vision. He was traded from the Dolphins after three seasons. He never had more than 790 receiving yards in a season and was never any team’s No. 1 wide receiver.
The Dolphins picked Ginn No. 9 overall.
One of the scenarios discussed in the Herald story is the Dolphins trading down with Denver and then picking Waddle.
At No. 9 overall.
This story was originally published April 26, 2021 at 12:50 PM.
