Source: Dolphins trade Jaylen Waddle to Broncos for picks

denver broncos finally looked outside his own locker room to help his offense with a trade on Tuesday to acquire wide receiver jaylen waddle From miami dolphinsa source told ESPN’s Adam Schefter.

The source told Schefter that the Broncos will receive Waddle as well as the Dolphins’ fourth-round pick (111th overall), while the Broncos will send their first-round pick (30th overall) as well as third- and fourth-round picks (94th and 130th overall) to Miami.

The 27-year-old Waddle is scheduled to undergo a physical with the Broncos on Wednesday, a source told ESPN’s Jeff Darlington.

The Broncos were the only team not to add a player from another team since free agency opened last week. Instead, they re-signed 17 of their 21 unrestricted, restricted and exclusive rights free agents.

Waddle, one of the league’s fastest players, will provide a big-play element to a Broncos offense that has finished near the bottom of the league in three-and-out drives in each of the last two seasons. The Broncos ranked 29th last season because 25% of their possessions on offense were three-and-outs.

Waddle’s 64 catches, 910 yards and six touchdowns last season would have ranked third, second and third for the Broncos, respectively.

The Dolphins selected Waddle with the sixth overall selection in the 2021 draft, and he set the NFL rookie record for receptions with 104. miami traded tyreek hill The following offseason, however, Waddle flourished under first-year coach Mike McDaniel.

He finished the 2022 season with a career-high 1,356 yards and eight touchdowns and followed that up in 2023 with 1,014 yards and four touchdowns. He signed a three-year, $84.75 million extension before the 2024 season.

Since entering the league, Waddle has the 10th-most receiving yards among wide receivers (5,039) in the NFL and the 11th-most receiving yards after the catch. Waddle was eighth in the league in yards per target (9.2) last season. He has 26 career touchdown receptions, and has also rushed for one score.

Waddle is due $41.2 million over the next two seasons. A source told ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler that the Broncos face $5 million in salary cap space for 2026, but will have trouble paying the remainder of Waddle’s contract. Miami has already paid most of his 2026 guarantees, but Denver can always rework his deal, which runs through 2028.

While both Broncos coach Sean Payton and general manager George Payton have repeatedly stated since the end of last season that they liked the makeup of the depth chart at wide receiver – the Broncos have used four selections in the last three drafts on wide receiver – Courtland Sutton Was the only Broncos receiver to be among the league’s top 48 players in receptions of at least 20 yards. Sutton was ninth with 17, but the next Broncos player was troy franklinJointly ranked 49th with nine.

This is the second big offensive move of the offseason for the Broncos. Payton announced at the NFL Combine last month that he had turned over playcalling duties to newly promoted offensive coordinator Davis Webb. with backup quarterback jarrett stidham In the lineup for an injured bo nixThe Broncos gained just 32 yards in the second half of the loss. new England Patriots In the AFC Championship Game, he had only one first down after halftime and did not have a possession longer than 17 yards in the third or fourth quarters.

After the loss, Payton was asked what he would criticize most after this, and he said he would start with himself. Payton said at the combine he first considered the idea of ​​delegating playcalling duties about “midseason” and that end-of-season reviews also played a role, including the potential to increase offensive tempo.

The Broncos, who finished 14-3 in the regular season to earn the AFC’s No. 1 seed, had one of the league’s best defenses last season – No. 1 in sacks and No. 1 in the red zone in the regular season, second on third downs and third in scoring defense and best in yards surrendered per game (4.46).

But Payton expressed his frustrations with the offense several times during the season and even the day after the playoff loss. The Broncos were 14th in the regular season in scoring – 23.6 points per game – 10th in offensive EPA and 12th in QBR.

Waddle will join a Broncos receiving corps that includes Sutton, Pat BryantFranklin, Marvin Mims Jr.., Lil’Jordan Humphrey And michael bandy.

The Dolphins, at Nos. 11 and 30, are now one of five teams that have two selections in the first round of this year’s draft, joining New York Jets (number 2,16), cleveland browns (6,24), kansas city chiefs (9,29) and dallas cowboys (12,20). In total, Miami currently has 11 selections in next month’s draft.

tutu atwell The position is atop the Dolphins’ depth chart, and has joined the receiver room. jalen tolbert, teres marshall jr., malik washington, Tahj Washington, Theo Weiss Jr.. And AJ Henning.