Jaylen Waddle: ‘Lucky for me…same quarterback, same head coach, OC and run it back’

The 2024 season did not go as planned for the Miami Dolphins and wide receiver Jaylen Waddle. The wide out is looking to rebound in 2025.

The 2024 season did not pan out as anyone in the Miami Dolphins organization hoped. The team struggled to score with an offense that never seemed to be in rhythm. Wide receiver Jaylen Waddle, who opened his career with three-straight 1,000-yard receiving seasons, saw his individual stats drop as Miami struggled to move the ball. He finished the 2024 season with just 744 yards on 58 receptions with two touchdowns, all well below his career averages.

Last week, during the team’s minicamp, Waddle met with the media. He was asked about using 2024 to motivate him for 2025. “Definitely not the year we wanted as a team. Definitely the year that I didn’t want as an individual, but lucky for me, we get to go back, same quarterback, same head coach, OC and run it back. I think the foundation that we are setting here in OTAs is going to really help us in training camp and lead us to the season.”

Head coach Mike McDaniel spoke about the growth and leadership of Waddle as he enters his fifth season in the league, and how the 2024 season impacted him. “I think he’s shown his teammates who he really is because I think one thing that you can’t really minimize is from a receiver’s perspective, having quarterbacks that you didn’t even practice with in training camp; that’s a difficult task, and the way he worked on his game during the season has transferred into what we need to see from him, from every player. Your best players have to show commitment to have growth in their game, and what I’ve seen is he is I think understanding his role as a leader a little bit more.”

McDaniel continued, “He’s taken more ownership in the tonality of practice. When he feels a lull, he has no problem going over to the defense and starting some competitive vibes, let’s just say. That’s an important part of our team and what we’re trying to do, is the best players have to strive to be better. And then when you do that, the trickle-down effect is real, the standard is set and everyone is approaching time with the team in a direction of making the whole football program better. So I think that’s what he’s been a direct part of and it’s been awesome to see because everybody gets juiced when Waddle is juiced, and he’s recognized that and gotten more juiced lately.”

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Throughout the team’s offseason training program period, including the organized team activities (OTAs) and minicamp, wide receiver Tyreek Hill was limited as he recovers from wrist surgery. Waddle benefited from the absence, seeing an increased target load throughout the on-field workouts.

“I approach it as any other day,” Waddle said of practicing without Hill. “I don’t think it really matters so much of who’s on the field, who’s not on the field. Just go out there and work man. Approach it, I’m trying to get better each and every day, trying to make the other side better each and every day. It’s not really a different approach. I think our just overall offense approach this offseason has been pretty good.”

Waddle was asked about a recent press conference for the Cincinnati Bengals, where wide receiver Tee Higgins was asked about “being the best number two wide receiver in the NFL” and wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase interrupted to say Higgins in not a number two – the Bengals just have two number ones. Waddle did not seem to care whether he is consider a two behind Hill as the one. “I just got out there and do my job, man,” Waddle stated. “Whatever they ask me to do, I just go out there and do it and try to do it at a high level and consistent. I don’t look at No. 1 or 2 – we’ve got a lot of players that can make a lot of plays to try to get the ball to. So when they call my number, I just try to make a play.”

McDaniel looked toward statements like that from Waddle to continue to show his growth. The coach explained, “I think therein proves who he is where he doesn’t make it a thing because it wasn’t. His game is growing and he is going to find ways to exceed each and every year as he knows to be the standard now. It’s frustrating for teammates and people that would care about it to hear that; however, it’s kind of like a badge of honor in that he doesn’t see it that way, nor should he, and he’s a secure player that is working on his craft and the returns on that, he knows with his life wisdom that the returns will be very favorable and it’s not if but when.”

How can Waddle get his game back up to the levels it was during his first three seasons? McDaniel does not think it was only on Waddle’s play, looking to what defenses did versus Miami last year, and the adjustments he and the coaching staff need to make to put the players in the best situation for each play. He explained, “I think one of the things that was very clear is that defenses had spent their time figuring out how to make us perform in all facets. So to be two-dimensional in any way, shape or form, regardless of how adept we were at doing any sort of pass gam, I think that they showed us that we will have to earn our way out of that, and you can easily as a group. If you’re trying to do it just with passing, it’s going be difficult, close to impossible. It’s got to be a totality and I think, really, it speaks to what we preach every day in terms of balance and run affecting pass and vice versa. The point was kind of proven last year so it’s up to us to really lean into our overall philosophical beliefs anyway.”

Waddle, however, looks to his own play, focusing on things he can do better than what he did last year, saying, “It was a lot man. A lot after watching the film definitely. A lot of hand eye, I feel like I’m trying to move without the ball too much. And just the simple things, just timing, getting smoother in and out of my routes. Pretty much that.”

Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa sees an opportunity to get things right with the connection between himself and Waddle this offseason, especially with Hill slowed right now. “We’re continuing to grow our chemistry with one another,” the quarterback said at the start of minicamp last week. “For the past year, for the past two years, it’s really been me and ‘Reek’ kind of getting on that same page. But if me and Waddle can get together and continue to make stride throughout these last few days of minicamp, I think it’s going to lead into some pretty good things preparing us for training camp.”

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As for what Waddle envisions for himself this year, the wide receiver stated, “Just to go about my days. Have the same approach every day, no matter the circumstances. Have the same approach every day – get the ball, don’t get the ball, ups and downs. Just the same approach.”

Miami will need Waddle to turn back into the deep-threat, explosive playmaker he was in the first three seasons of his career. The receiver seems to know he has work to do, while McDaniel and Tagovailoa know they have a big part in elevating Waddle’s play.

The growth and development of Waddle, and the Dolphins offense as a whole, will continue in late July as the team returns to training camp.