2021 NFL Draft Scouting Report: Jaylen Waddle

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Jaylen Waddle, 5-10/182 Wide Receiver Alabama

Jaylon Waddle Scouting Report
By Charlie Campbell

Strengths:

Explosive playmaker

Threat to score and rip off long gains on any touch

Very fast

Consistently creates separation

First-step quickness

Twitchy in and out of breaks

Sudden

Deep-threat receiver

Stretches a defense vertically

Excellent with the ball in his hands

Dangerous run-after-the-catch skills

Elusive in the open field

Big-play speed

Dangerous returner on special teams

Killer mentality; lethal player who can dominate defenses

Good athleticism

Experienced; ready to contribute quickly

Excelled against elite competition

Potential to be an elite No. 1 receiver in the NFL

Weaknesses:

Raw

Not a polished route runner

Short

Undersized

Could stand to improve his hands

Ability to hold up in the NFL?

Summary: Despite Alabama having star-studded group receivers including Jerry Jeudy, Henry Ruggs, DeVonta Smith and Jaylen Waddle in 2019, some NFL evaluators felt Waddle was the most explosive and fastest of them. Waddle did not produce as much in college as those three, but he did enough to have teams projecting him as a potentially elite receiver for the NFL.

Waddle was behind Smith, Jeudy and Ruggs on the depth chart, but he still made his presence felt with some explosive plays for Alabama. As a freshman in 2018, Waddle averaged 19 yards per reception from 848 yards and seven touchdowns over 45 catches. As a sophomore, he hauled in 33 passes for 560 yards with six touchdowns. Waddle was on pace to his best season in 2020 before an ankle injury caused him to miss the majority of the year. He played in four games before missing the rest of the regular season, but Waddle returned to play sparingly in the National Championship against Ohio State. For his year, he took 28 receptions for 591 yards – a 21.1-yard average – and four touchdowns.

There is no doubt that Waddle is an explosive playmaker who is a threat to score on any reception. He is a true speed receiver who can score from any place on the field and has mismatch ability for the NFL. Cornerbacks really struggle to run with Waddle, as he is extremely fast in a straight line plus is sudden and explosive in and out of his breaks. That leads to him easily creating separation, and when he gets the ball, he is deadly. Waddle displays tremendous yards-after-the-catch ability with his elite speed and elusive moves in the open field.

Waddle’s deep speed allows him to line up on the outside or in the slot as his speed creates mismatches at any spot on the field. While Waddle is not a tall receiver, he makes up for it with his electric ability to produce big plays on any reception. Waddle also is a dangerous returner for special teams as well, although his NFL team will probably protect him from injury and not have him do that on a full-time basis. They could save him for special situations or big games instead.

There are areas of improvement for Waddle entering the next level. Team sources say he is not a polished route-runner and has to improve on the fundamentals to not be limited as a gadget- or specialist-type player. Waddle could stand to improve his hands and become a more natural catcher of the football.

Waddle’s explosive speed and game-changing ability have some evaluators believing he could go in the No. 10-15 range of the first round of the 2021 NFL Draft,provided his medical report goes well. Sources from seven different teams said they thought Waddle would go in Round 1 next April, with a few believing that he would be a top-16 pick in the 2021 NFL Draft.



Player Comparison: Tyreek Hill Multiple team sources compared Waddle to Hill. Hill (5-10, 185) and Waddle are almost identical in size and possess game-breaking speed and explosiveness that make them nearly impossible to cover. If Waddle stays healthy and lands with a good team like Hill did, Waddle could be Hill-type receiver in the NFL.

2021 NFL Draft Player Previews - Choose Player 2021 NFL Draft Player Previews - Home Paulson Adebo, CB, Stanford Tutu Atwell, WR, Louisville Jhamon Ausbon, WR, Texas A&M Aaron Banks, G, Notre Dame Christian Barmore, DT, Alabama Carlos Basham, DE, Wake Forest Rashod Bateman, WR, Minnesota Nick Bolton, LB, Missouri Baron Browning, LB, Ohio State Dyami Brown, WR, North Carolina Spencer Brown, OT, Northern Iowa Tyson Campbell, CB, Georgia Jackson Carman, OT, Clemson Ja'Marr Chase, WR, LSU Andre Cisco, S, Syracuse Zaven Collins, LB, Tulsa Sam Cosmi, OT, Texas Jabril Cox, LB, LSU Christian Darrisaw, OT, Virginia Tech Jamin Davis, LB, Kentucky Wyatt Davis, G, Ohio State Landon Dickerson, C, Alabama Liam Eichenberg, OT, Notre Dame D'Wayne Eskridge, WR, Western Michigan Travis Etienne, RB, Clemson Caleb Farley, CB, Virginia Tech Justin Fields, QB, Ohio State Paris Ford, S, Pittsburgh Pat Freiermuth, TE, Penn State Kenny Gainwell, RB, Memphis Richie Grant, S, Central Florida Najee Harris, RB, Alabama Kylin Hill, RB, Mississippi State Trey Hill, C, Georgia Jevon Holland, S, Oregon Jaycee Horn, CB, South Carolina James Hudson, OT, Cincinnati Talanoa Hufanga, S, USC Creed Humphrey, C, Oklahoma Teven Jenkins, OT, Oklahoma State Mac Jones, QB, Alabama Patrick Jones, DE, Pittsburgh Brevin Jordan, TE, Miami Kelvin Joseph, CB, Kentucky Trey Lance, QB, North Dakota State Trevor Lawrence, QB, Clemson Alex Leatherwood, OT, Alabama Walker Little, OT, Stanford Hunter Long, TE, Boston College Terrace Marshall Jr., WR, LSU Jalen Mayfield, OT, Michigan Tre' McKitty, TE, Georgia Davis Mills, QB, Stanford Trevon Moehrig, S, TCU Elijah Molden, CB, Washington Kellen Mond, QB, Texas A&M Dan Moore Jr., OT, Texas A&M Elijah Moore, WR, Ole Miss Rondale Moore, WR, Purdue Dylan Moses, LB, Alabama Israel Mukuamu, CB, South Carolina Jamie Newman, QB, Wake Forest Greg Newsome, CB, Northwestern Daviyon Nixon, DT, Iowa Dayo Odeyingbo, DE, Vanderbilt Osa Odighizuwa, DT, UCLA Azeez Ojulari, LB, Georgia Levi Onwuzurike, DT, Washington Joseph Ossai, LB, Texas Jayson Oweh, DE, Penn State Jeremiah Owusu-Koromoah, LB, Notre Dame Micah Parsons, LB, Penn State Kwity Paye, DE, Michigan Ronnie Perkins, OLB, Oklahoma Jaelan Phillips, DE, Miami Kyle Pitts, TE, Florida Dillon Radunz, OT, North Dakota Aaron Robinson, CB, Central Florida Quincy Roche, OLB, Miami Larry Rountree, RB, Missouri Gregory Rousseau, DE, Miami Asante Samuel Jr., CB, Florida State Trey Sermon, RB, Ohio State Penei Sewell, OT, Oregon Tyler Shelvin, DT, LSU Rashawn Slater, C, Northwestern DeVonta Smith, WR, Alabama D'Ante Smith, OT, East Carolina Trey Smith, G, Tennessee Marquez Stevenson, WR, Houston Rhamondre Stevenson, RB, Oklahoma Eric Stokes, CB, Georgia Chazz Surratt, LB, North Carolina Sage Surratt, WR, Wake Forest Patrick Surtain, CB, Alabama Tamorrion Terry, WR, Florida State Kadarius Toney, WR, Florida Kyle Trask, QB, Florida Joe Tryon, DE, Washington Jay Tufele, DT, USC Payton Turner, DE, Houston T.J. Vasher, WR, Texas Tech Alijah Vera-Tucker, OT, USC Jaylen Waddle, WR, Alabama Tylan Wallace, WR, Oklahoma State Rashad Weaver, DE, Pittsburgh Javonte Williams, RB, North Carolina Rodarius Williams, CB, Oklahoma State Marvin Wilson, DT, Florida State Zach Wilson, QB, BYU

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