Miami Dolphins’ Jaylen Waddle should be used like Deebo Samuel
As the Miami Dolphins prepare to take on the Tennessee Titans, the team could use Jaylen Waddle similar to how San Francisco uses Deebo Samuel.
While the 49ers were unable to beat the Tennessee Titans in a tightly contested 20-to-17 loss, Samuel was highly productive. Samuel had 9 catches for 159 yards off 11 targets and 5 rushes for 32 yards.
With 14 total touches, Samuel was able to produce 191 yards on the day. The Dolphins will likely need to use Waddle in a similar manner, and he will need to produce with yards after the catch like Samuel.
It took Samuel time to find his groove in the league, but now he is breaking wideout records but for rushing while also producing his first 1,000-yard receiving season. He’s mostly done it while being one of the league leaders in yards after the catch.
Although the Dolphins likely won’t give Waddle the rush attempts, yet, but he is likely to once again see double-digit targets against the Titans porous secondary.
In seven games this season, Waddle has seen at least 10 targets and has caught at least 10 catches three times. Last week against the New Orleans Saints Waddle was able to catch 10 passes for 92 yards and a touchdown off 12 targets.
It’s clear that Waddle is Dolphin’s second-year quarterback Tua Tagovailoa’s favorite target, he has been targeted the most of any Dolphins player this season and outpaced Devante Parker last week. Waddle’s ability in the slot has helped make up for the lack of a run game and bad blocking.
On the season Waddle has 126 targets with 96 catches, he’s on a historic pace being 6 receptions short of Anquan Boldin’s 101 catch rookie season. With his current pace, nearly 7 catches a game, Waddle is projected to break Boldin’s record against the Titans.
With the Dolphins being in the thick of the playoff race, they’ll need Waddle to once again produce as the team’s top offensive weapon. In a sense, the team will need to feed Waddle and hope he produces after the catch similar to Samuel for the 49ers.
