Cooler heads prevailed amid trade deadline push for Dolphins’ Jaylen Waddle — and the data justifies the massive asking price Miami needed to even consider deal

Kyle Crabbs — NFL National Writer

Nov 6, 2025 6:53 AM EST

The future is, in some ways, now for the Miami Dolphins. It’s just a matter of fighting to determine who is here in the present and will have earned the right to be here for it. Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa? Consider his seat hot. Head coach Mike McDaniel? What’s hotter that hot? Scorching?

This iteration of the Dolphins is just about done. But the process of looking to the future starts with a big change, which Miami has embraced at general manager. And the rest of this season appears to be about filtering who else that is a part of this operation belongs in the “stay” and “go” buckets.

One player in particular, Jaylen Waddle, should appear to know where he stands after the Dolphins turned down some handsome offers for him at the 2025 NFL trade deadline. And a report last night from NFL Network’s Cam Wolfe only further conforms what the tea leaves tell us — Waddle is (rightfully) viewed as a long-term building block for the franchise into the future.

Dolphins view WR Jaylen Waddle as ‘a part of their new future’

Why Dolphins trading Jaylen Waddle never got close & what relatively quiet trade deadline means for Mike McDaniel, Tua & future.

For @nflnetwork The Insiders: pic.twitter.com/eubuCs4gjL
— Cameron Wolfe (@CameronWolfe) November 6, 2025

“People thought that maybe there was a chance this could get done. I was told the Denver Broncos had some conversations with them, but from one source’s perspective, they wanted a “Quinnen Williams” or “Sauce Gardner” type return for Jaylen Waddle and that just wasn’t the market out there for him. (The Dolphins) view him as a part of their new future, whether that is with Tua, McDaniel, or some combination of other people. They think Jaylen Waddle, who is on pace for his fourth 1,000 yard season of the last five years, will be a big part of it.”

— NFL Network’s Cam Wolfe on Miami fielding offers for Jaylen Waddle

Jaylen Waddle’s current receiving ranks in Dolphins franchise history

4,715 receiving yards, ranks 8th all-time in franchise history
- Is 12 yards behind DeVante Parker for 7th place all-time and 18 yards behind Tyreek Hill for 6th place
24 receiving touchdowns ranks T-9th all-time in franchise history
350 receptions ranks 8th all-time in franchise history

Waddle is a sleeping giant in production. The ability to produce as a top target has become more evident with the absence of Tyreek Hill since Week 4, allowing Waddle to step out from behind his shadow. But on the 2025 season, Waddle ranks fourth in the NFL in EPA per target among wide receivers with at least 40 targets — trailing only Puka Nacua, DeVonta Smith, and George Pickens. Since Week 5, the first game without Tyreek Hill, Waddle ranks second in the same statistic among receivers with at least 25 targets since that date.

In raw production, Waddle ranks fifth in the NFL in receiving yards since the first week after Hill went down (401). Ja’Marr Chase ranks first in that stat but has literally twice the targets Waddle has since Week 5 (72 versus 36). Among receivers with at least 30 targets since Week 5, Waddle’s 16.7 yards per reception ranks fourth among NFL wide receivers.

This isn’t just a 2025 production level, either. Since the start of the 2022 season, when Mike McDaniel arrived in Miami, Waddle is tied with Puka Nacua for the highest EPA per target figure of any wide receiver in the league with at least 100 targets. Better than Amon’Ra St. Brown (3rd), De’Vonta Smith (4th), George Pickens (9th), Tyreek Hill (10th), AJ Brown (14th), Ja’Marr Chase (28th), and so on. And from a raw production standpoint, Waddle ranks 8th in the NFL in receiving yards over that period of time — all while playing second fiddle to Tyreek Hill until a month ago. His 363 targets since the start of the 2022 season ranks lowest among the NFL’s top-22 pass catchers in yardage since the start of the 2022 season — and again, he ranks 8th. Every name in front of him on the list has at least 450 targets. Five of the seven have at least 500 targets.

This is a four-year sample size of Jaylen Waddle literally being as good at providing ‘above expectation’ production per target as anyone in the league while holding his own as the “second” target in Miami’s passing attack. And his efficiency numbers are higher WITHOUT Tyreek Hill on the field.

That guy should be a part of the future. And if he’s not, it’d better be because you got an offer that’s too good to be true — not because you put him out on the front yard at the garage sale and accepted someone’s attempt to rip you off.