Top 10 wide receivers in the 2021 NFL Draft

#2 2021 NFL Draft Prospect: Jaylen Waddle (Alabama)

5’ 10”, 185 pounds; JR

Jaylen Waddle

A top-50 overall recruit in 2018, Jaylen Waddle was the SEC’s Freshman of the Year, thanks to 848 receiving yards and seven touchdowns. His receiving numbers dropped his sophomore season, because of Alabama’s loaded receiver room, but he scored long touchdowns on a punt and kick return each.

Last season, he registered absurd numbers – which would have actually had him end up with better numbers than Devonta Smith, projected over a full season – when he was up to 557 yards and four TDs through the air after four games, and then actually came back for the national title game, even though he clearly wasn’t close to 100 percent.

For anybody saying Waddle was basically the fourth receiver on that Alabama offense and only started producing like a top receiver last season – which was very limited. He led all FBS receivers with 4.46 yards per route run from the slot in 2019 and Tua Tagovailoa had a perfect passer rating (158.3) when targeting number 17, while averaging a ridiculous 12.2 yards after the catch.

Those numbers were basically identical this past season. In terms of explosiveness, Waddle to me is in a tier of his own in this receiver class – as great as it may be. He has ridiculous ability to accelerate and decelerate, which routinely leads to defensive backs not being able to get out of transitions, before Waddle’s eyes are already back at the quarterback.

He is such a dynamic separator on deeper-developing routes, bending off either foot on cuts that other receivers have to throttle down for. He quickly eats up cushions to safeties and really puts them in a bind, by being able to threaten to the post or corner consistently. And he really attacks leverages and forces DBs to open their hips, in order to beat them out of his breaks.

Waddle can accelerate through his cuts, and he’s very sudden with snapping his head around. If there was ever any question about Waddle’s rolling speed, check out his 90-yard TD versus Georgia last year, when he put on warp mode. His passer rating when targeted last season increased by depth – over 100 on all three levels and a perfect one on passes of 20+ air yards.

Jaylen Waddle had this one play against Texas A&M last year, where he shows some deeper break to the inside, but quickly cuts back upfield against a two-man defense and he ends up actually having to slow down on a deep ball, but is still is about five yards behind the safety and corner.

Waddle was Bama’s run-and-catch specialist, who they gave the ball to on screens and quick passes, as well as several speed sweeps. The amount of times he got the ball working out to the sideline and the force defenders seems to have him perfectly leveraged, but he gives that guy a little hesitation and gets outside him anyway, is just absurd.

The Crimson Tide even lined him up at running back and let him run swing screens in some games. There are times, where he catches a ball underneath and it’s like he presses some kind of a boost button on a controller for an automatic 10-15 yards. Waddle is nearly impossible to bring down one-on-one in open space and he makes those ankle-breaking type of cuts across the grain routinely.

For that reason, he was used a ton as eye-candy on orbit motions and different fakes. While he may not posterize anybody like Chase or his teammate, who I’ll get to in a little, Waddle shows great concentration to hold onto catches downfield, tracking the ball over the shoulder, with a defender on his back or getting a big hit mid-air from the safety coming over.

Although he brings most value as deception, faking screens and sweeps. Waddle does a good job getting in front of defenders in space and is looking to stay engaged with them as a blocker. In addition to what he brings on offense, Smith offers tremendous value as a return man, with the ability to weave through coverage units and the speed to go the distance. His punt return TD against LSU in 2019 was incredible, considering he nearly had his head ripped off as he first caught the ball.

The biggest cause for pause for Waddle is simply that he doesn’t have a ton of experience, with under 1000 career snaps on offense and having run a little more than half as many routes. While I don’t think he should be pigeonholed into a pure slot role, he has only spent 114 of 535 snaps over the last two seasons out wide. Plus, at 5’10”, he will primarily line up inside.

Even though he has good reps and catches working through contact, he still won’t offer a whole lot in contested catch situations. He could also use some more polish on routes in that intermediate area, having run a lot of the underneath stuff or being targeted down the field. Of course he is coming off a fractured ankle and has had a few nicks and bruises throughout his collegiate career.

I personally just couldn’t help myself from putting my eyes on Waddle when watching tape of anybody on that Alabama offense or any defensive players facing the Crimson Tide. He is the most electric playmaker I have scouted at the wide receiver position and he has turned himself into a much better all-around receiver throughout his time in Tuscaloosa.

Over the last two years, he has caught 61 of 72 targets and been a reliable player, to go with that homerun ability. He is easily a top-ten overall prospect, and there is not a lot of separation between numbers one and two, but they have different skillsets.