Welcome to our continued coverage of the relevant NFL News for Fantasy Football purposes. Today, I’ll be giving my instant reaction to the latest news as Jaylen Waddle was traded to the Denver Broncos.
Read along as I give you my breakdown of the 2026 Fantasy Football Impact!
A blockbuster trade has occurred in the NFL that contains a ton of ripple effects for fantasy football next season, as the Miami Dolphins have dealt WR Jaylen Waddle to the Denver Broncos in exchange for a 2026 first-round pick, a third-round pick, and a fourth-round pick. This is a hefty price to pay for Denver, but in my eyes, it’s worth it.
Jaylen Waddle is a BLUR. 43-yard TD!
— NFL (@NFL) October 26, 2025
MIAvsATL on CBS/Paramount+https://t.co/HkKw7uXnxV pic.twitter.com/k6ggqc9Qu1
I have discussed this many times over the past few weeks, but heading into this offseason, the Denver Broncos need another high-level WR to pair with Courtland Sutton. I like Troy Franklin, Pat Bryant, and Marvin Mims, but all three are very niche, role-specific players in my mind. The franchise needed another true, high-end target earner at the position to work in tandem with Sutton, and Jaylen Waddle fills that need in spades.
Jaylen Waddle’s career in the NFL thus far has been strange, from a fantasy perspective at least. Across 2021 and 2022, in Half PPR scoring, Waddle averaged 12.7 fantasy points per game. From 2023 to 2025, however, the player averaged 9.9 fantasy points per game. Very inconsistent and frustrating production for our purposes. I still firmly believe in Waddle’s talent, though, so I am chalking up most of the player’s drop-off in production from year to year to poor circumstances and bad QB play in Miami.
People are going to look at Malik Willis and say that they are out on the player in 2026 fantasy drafts. Yes, the QB now has no proven weapons in Miami after the Waddle trade (excluding De’Von Achane, of course). But I am still very much in on the young signal caller next season. Willis’ fantasy outlook was never about how good a passer he might be. It was always about his elite rushing upside and potential. Nothing changes there.
In fact, I’d argue that a lack of weapons is good for Willis in a way, because it means more rushing attempts and scrambles on a weekly basis during the season in 2026.
I still love Courtland Sutton from both a real and fantasy perspective, but Jaylen Waddle topped him in quite a few categories last season. YPRR (2.42 for Waddle/1.85 for Sutton), TPRR (0.26 for Waddle/0.22 for Sutton), and target share (21.6% for Waddle/19.6% for Sutton). Jaylen Waddle also had a 69% contested catch rate in 2025, compared to Courtland Sutton’s 57% contested catch rate in 2025.
Right now, as we sit here today, I slightly prefer Jaylen Waddle to Courtland Sutton in fantasy drafts next year, but I am not “paying up” for either one. I am perfectly content to just sit and wait to see which one falls to me.
That’s it for our coverage of recent fantasy-relevant NFL news, as Jaylen Waddle was traded to the Denver Broncos!
Stay tuned for more NFL Trade reactions and fantasy analysis from me as the league’s new year progresses. For all my other work here at Fantasy In Frames, click here.
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