Jaylen Waddle trade should boost Denver Broncos, QB Bo Nix - ESPN

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Denver Broncos offensive tackle Garett Bolles put out the call early this offseason. Asked what the team needed to win one more game and advance to the Super Bowl, he quickly said «we just need a couple more playmakers and the sky is the limit.»

The Broncos finally answered Bolles' request Tuesday, trading for Miami Dolphins wide receiver Jaylen Waddle. The Broncos sent first-, third- and fourth-round picks in April's draft to the Dolphins in exchange for Waddle and a fourth-round pick in April.

Waddle is expected at the Broncos' complex Wednesday for a physical to formally complete the deal and is potentially the kind of playmaker who fits the Broncos offense as well as quarterback Bo Nix's tendencies.

The sixth-year receiver arrives in Denver with three years left on an extension he signed in 2024 with $32.2 million in guarantees over the next two seasons. His three 1,000-yard seasons over the past five seasons — which came in the first three years of his career — are more than any Broncos player over that span. He led the league with 18.1 yards per reception in 2022, a season in which he had 75 receptions for a career-best 1,356 yards and eight touchdowns (also a career high).

The Broncos pursued Waddle before the trade deadline this past season and picked up the chase again at the combine last month. He is now the most significant roster change from last season after Denver spent the first week of free agency re-signing its own players.

Waddle's catch-and-run abilities through the intermediate and deep areas of the field should be welcomed by Nix. The 26-year-old was 15th in QBR this past season (58.3), as he led the NFL in pass attempts at 612. But Nix completed only 38.7% of his passes 20 or more