Rookie fever is as real as the flu. And they both hit hard every year, right on schedule. If the fall is flu season, then spring is rookie flu season. The 2023 NFL Draft is right around the corner so there’s no better time to take advantage of that. And the closer we get to the NFL Draft, the more valuable those dynasty rookie picks become. As NFL free agency winds down, the dynasty rankings don’t really change, the startup ADP doesn’t change, yet the picks slowly creep up that board. Now is the time to swap out those high-risk coin flips for locked-in assets. And we’ve got just the target for you: Jaylen Waddle.
We all saw the transformation of the Miami Dolphins offense under Mike McDaniel. But there’s some confusion about the transformation that Jaylen Waddle underwent individually as part of that. Many folks simply saw the addition of Tyreek Hill and Waddle’s corresponding drop in targets from 138 to 114. But the more important transition was Waddle’s switch from primarily playing slot to primarily playing flanker. And, over the remainder of his career, that switch is going to prove far more valuable than any target totals in his first couple of seasons, and here’s why.