Kelly: Jaylen Waddle’s coming into his own as Dolphins’ go-to weapon | Opinion
Jaylen Waddle walked along the Miami Dolphins sidelines peacocking during Sunday’s game, expressing a side of himself he rarely ever shows.
“I been that! I been that,” Waddle said to his teammates right after scoring a 36-yard touchdown on the deep bomb thrown by Tua Tagovailoa in the first half of Sunday’s 30-13 win against the Buffalo Bills. “I been the one.”
When asked about the moment caught on camera by NFL film crews and shared by Miami Dolphins during Miami’s preparation for Sunday’s International game against the Washington Commanders, Waddle started to hide under the towel he was using to wipe himself down.
His teammate De’Von Achane couldn’t stop laughing because he knew where the question was going.
“They got that?” Waddle asked, peaking his head out from underneath the towel.
That’s part of Waddle’s charm, his humility.
He’s the furthest thing from a diva receiver, and that makes him unique for his position because most receivers spend their entire life — on and off the field — trying to get people to pay attention to them, notice they are open.
They are flashy, and usually confident, bordering on arrogant.
“It’s just the flow of the game, mentality that I have out there,” Waddle said, referring to his ‘I been that’ statement. “The mentality that I have when I’m out there and competing. It’s just the mentality.”
Based on his five seasons in Miami, we can interpret Waddle’s braggadocious moment two ways.
Either he’s saying he has been a No. 1 receiver for a team all along, despite taking a backseat to All-Pro receiver Tyreek Hill when they played together for the past four seasons:
Or he has been a special talent, which is hard to argue considering he was the sixth overall selection in the 2021 NFL Draft, is one of the NFL’s 12 highest-paid receivers after signing a five-year deal that’s potentially worth $109 million before last season, and the discovery that Miami has turned down multiple first-round picks, which have been offered in multiple years by teams trying to acquire Waddle.
Both of those theories can be debated, but what isn’t debatable is that Waddle has proven he can carry a passing attack on his own, which is what he has had to do the past six games, since Hill sustained his career-threatening left knee injury in Miami’s 27-21 win against the New York Jets.
Waddle, who is on pace to deliver his fourth 1,000-yard season as a receiver, has spent years learning from Hill as they have played alongside one another. But their personalities couldn’t be any further apart.
Hill’s a showman who demands attention. Waddle’s a worker who likes to stay in the backdrop.
He’s quiet, reserved, and humble. But he has proven his talent is loud.
“I think [that] always kind of lays beneath the surface,” offensive coordinator Frank Smith said, referring to Waddle popping his collar after the touchdown. “He’s got that going on.”
Many wondered how Hill’s absence would impact Waddle’s game, especially since defenses would be able to lock in on double-covering Waddle since Miami has few proven weapons outside of him and Achane, who leads the Dolphins in rushing yards and receptions.
Waddle ranks fourth in the NFL since Week 5 in receiving yards with 485, and eighth in yards per game (80.8).
He has produced at least five catches and 82 yards in five of the six games, with a one-catch-for-15-yard performance in Miami’s embarrassing 31-6 loss to the Cleveland Browns serving as the lone outlier.
And Waddle took a ton of responsibility for the offense’s struggles after that game, telling reporters he wasn’t running his routes properly for Tagovailoa, whose game is built on accuracy and chemistry with his weaponry.
“It’s not individual success. It’s always about team wins,” Waddle said.
He’s in his eighth season with Tagovailoa, whom he created a bond with at the University of Alabama, and coach Mike McDaniel said the growth in his game is beginning to show this season.
“His leadership has taken a big step forward this year,” Tagovailoa said, assessing the growth he has seen over the years.
At Alabama he was a supporting cast member to a number of former Crimson Tide standout receivers such as Jerry Jeudy, DeVonta Smith, the Heisman Trophy winner, and Henry Ruggs, who were all first-round selections.
While Jeudy and Smith have had productive NFL careers as starters, Waddle’s right up there with them. And based on this season, it’s clear has the potential to do more.
And more importantly, the talent to be more.
This story was originally published November 14, 2025 at 1:38 PM.
