Jaylen Waddle with the Miami Dolphins, 2024
With the Miami Dolphins, 2024. Photo: Tennessee Titans, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Receiver, Alabama, 2018–⁠20

Jaylen Waddle

Number
No. 17
Height
5′10″
Weight
182 lb
Class (2020)
Junior
Hometown
Houston, TX
Born
Nov 25, 1998, in Houston, Texas

Wikipedia readers: about 17,068 a month over the past year

Jaylen Waddle played receiver at Alabama (2018–⁠20). The Miami Dolphins took Waddle in the first round, No. 6 overall in the 2021 NFL Draft.

At a glance

Best season
848
Receiving yards, 2018 (Alabama, 14–⁠1)
National rank
No. 1
In the nation in punt return average, 2019
Drafted
No. 6
Overall, 2021 NFL Draft (Miami Dolphins)

Career highs

8catches, career highat Missouri, 2020161receiving yards, career highvs. Georgia, 20203receiving touchdowns, career highat Auburn, 2019

Honors

Team titles: SEC champions, 2018 and 2020; National champions, 2020

All-America: FWAA 2019; Sporting News 2019; Athlon Sports 2019; CBS Sports 2019; Phil Steele 2019; Sports Illustrated 2019; USA Today 2019

Players of the year, conference and regional honors: Wikipedia’s lists (CC BY-SA), each linked from its honor.

Receiving

Receiving yards, season by season, with his team’s record
SeasonTeamRecYdsAvgTDLong
2018Alabama4584818.8794
2019Alabama3356017.0658
2020Alabama2859121.1490
Career1061,99918.91794

Returns

SeasonTeamKRYdsTDPRYdsTD
2018Alabama–––182331
2019Alabama51751204871
2020Alabama43902130
Career92141407332

Season lines from CollegeFootballData, regular season and bowls. A dash: the source has no number for that season (often an FCS season), and career totals count only the numbers on file.

On the roster

SeasonTeamNo.PosClassHtWt
2018Alabama17WRFr.
2019Alabama17WRSo.
2020Alabama17WRJr.5′10″182

As each season’s roster listed the player (CollegeFootballData). Classes before the latest listing are counted back from it; “Yr 1” is the year on file where that count can’t place a season he played (a redshirt, transfer or 2020 year); height and weight as last listed.

Per play

SeasonTeamPlaysEPA/playPctileMedianTotalUsage
2018Alabama511.1699th (n=497)0.5359.05%
2019Alabama401.1098th (n=499)0.5444.25%
2020Alabama351.3799th (n=346)0.5547.910%

Expected points added: how much the player’s plays moved the team’s expected score, per play and in total. Plays: total EPA divided by EPA per play, the plays the source credits to him (for a receiver roughly his catches and runs, not every target; for a passer, not every attempt), so it can differ from attempts plus carries. Percentile: against the position’s regulars that season across all divisions on file (quarterbacks with 150+ plays, backs 60+, receivers and tight ends 30+), with how many there were (n) and their median; a dash means too few plays to rank. A season in progress uses the full-season bar scaled by games played, never below 75 plays for quarterbacks, 30 for backs and 20 for receivers. The cohort grows or shrinks with the source’s coverage each season (2025 lists far more players), so compare percentiles rather than raw EPA across years. FCS seasons are marked. Usage: the share of the team’s plays the player was part of (shown from 20 plays). From CollegeFootballData, 2013 on.

Game by game

2020 Alabama 6 games, 28 catches, 591 yards, 4 TD
DateOpponentResultRecRec ydsRec TDKRYdsPR
Sep 26atMissouriW 38–⁠1981342–––
Oct 3vs.Texas A&MW 52–⁠2451421––1
Oct 10atOle MissW 63–⁠486120022–
Oct 17vs.GeorgiaW 41–⁠24616111221
Oct 24atTennesseeW 48–⁠17–––115–
Jan 11 ✦vs.Ohio StateW 52–⁠243340–––
2019 Alabama 13 games, 33 catches, 560 yards, 6 TD
DateOpponentResultRecRec ydsRec TDKRYdsPR
Aug 31vs.DukeW 42–⁠35900–––
Sep 7vs.New Mexico StateW 62–⁠102520––3
Sep 14atSouth CarolinaW 47–⁠231120––1
Sep 21vs.Southern MissW 49–⁠73430––1
Sep 28vs.Ole MissW 59–⁠31100––3
Oct 12atTexas A&MW 47–⁠283481––4
Oct 19vs.TennesseeW 35–⁠131130––2
Oct 26vs.ArkansasW 48–⁠75390–––
Nov 9vs.LSUL 41–⁠463220––1
Nov 16atMississippi StateW 38–⁠71351––2
Nov 23vs.Western CarolinaW 66–⁠3310111202
Nov 30atAuburnL 45–⁠4849833132–
Jan 1 ✦vs.MichiganW 35–⁠161701231
2018 Alabama 15 games, 45 catches, 848 yards, 7 TD
DateOpponentResultRecRec ydsRec TDKRYdsPR
Sep 1vs.LouisvilleW 51–⁠143660––4
Sep 8vs.Arkansas StateW 57–⁠7190––3
Sep 15atOle MissW 62–⁠71300––1
Sep 22vs.Texas A&MW 45–⁠233210––2
Sep 29vs.LouisianaW 56–⁠1431382––2
Oct 6atArkansasW 65–⁠314490–––
Oct 13vs.MissouriW 39–⁠102270––1
Oct 20atTennesseeW 58–⁠2141171––1
Nov 3atLSUW 29–⁠04440––1
Nov 10vs.Mississippi StateW 24–⁠03260–––
Nov 17vs.The CitadelW 50–⁠176902–––
Nov 24vs.AuburnW 52–⁠213731––1
Dec 1vs.GeorgiaW 35–⁠2841131––1
Dec 29 ✦vs.OklahomaW 45–⁠342200–––
Jan 7 ✦vs.ClemsonL 16–⁠442250––1

Box scores from CollegeFootballData, 2004 on. ✦ postseason; ★ a career high on file.

Before the draft

DrillPro day 2021
Height5′9½″
Weight180 lb
Arm length30⅜″
Hand size9⅛″
Wingspan74⅝″W
40-yard dash4.37 sW
Broad jump10′2″

Unmarked: Combine and pro day results compiled by array-carpenter (nfl-draft-data); W: Pre-draft measurables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).

In the NFL

6 seasons, 83 games with a stat; latest team: Denver Broncos.

SeasonTeamGRecYdsTD
2021Miami Dolphins161041,0156
2022Miami Dolphins17751,3568
2023Miami Dolphins14721,0144
2024Miami Dolphins15587442
2025Miami Dolphins16649106
2026 (so far)Denver Broncos5182041
NFL career833915,24327

Regular seasons, from nflverse (CC BY 4.0). G counts games in which the player recorded a stat.

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