The Denver Broncos boosted their WR room by adding Jaylen Waddle via trade with the Miami Dolphins this offseason. Waddle joins a group already featuring Courtland Sutton, Troy Franklin and Pat Bryant under Sean Payton, with QB Bo Nix at the helm. With the fresh start in Denver, there’s plenty of hype around Waddle as a mid-round sleeper for 2026 fantasy football.
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Matt Harmon and Justin Boone take a look at early ADP on Waddle and whether or not we could see a big jump in fantasy production from him on the Broncos on the latest episode of the Yahoo Fantasy Forecast.
Waddle’s early Yahoo ADP for 2026 is WR21, going around pick No. 53 in drafts. Boone has Waddle ranked as his WR21 for 2026 fantasy football in his latest June update. That’s much higher than where the wideout is going in drafts — Boone is high on him in Denver.
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Playing mostly as the second option behind Tyreek Hill in Miami, Waddle was very productive, even turning in a season with 75 catches for 1,356 yards and eight touchdowns back in 2022. In fact, he started his NFL career with three straight 1,000-yard seasons.
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Boone points out the turmoil on the Dolphins and the fact Waddle is going to a better offense that is going to throw a ton. Nix led the NFL in pass attempts in 2025 and Waddle should be the No. 1 option in the passing game, ahead of Sutton and Franklin.
Harmon likes Waddle even more than Boone, ranking the WR 12th at the position for 2026. Harmon reiterates not to draft Waddle that high but instead to target him around where his ADP suggests. The analyst also states Waddle could be this season’s George Pickens, a WR who got traded and became a top-five fantasy WR in the process.
