The Mile High Splash: Why the Jaylen Waddle Trade is a Big Deal for Denver and Miami
The NFL offseason is getting really exciting. The Denver Broncos just made a move by getting star wide receiver Jaylen Waddle from the Miami Dolphins.
For people who like the Broncos this is like getting a gift. For people who like the Dolphins it is clear that the old team is gone and they are starting over. Let us look at the trade that has everyone talking.
The Trade Breakdown: What Each Team Got
This was not a simple trade. It was a move that involved a lot of draft picks.
The Denver Broncos got Jaylen Waddle and a 2026 4th-round pick.
The Miami Dolphins got a 2026 1st-round pick, a 3rd-round pick and a late 4th-round pick.
Why Denver Made This Move
The Broncos were very good season but did not make it to the Super Bowl. They lost to the Patriots in the championship game. Their quarterback, Bo Nix was. Could not play.
By getting Jaylen Waddle, the Broncos are saying that they want to win
- A New Partner for Bo Nix
Bo Nix threw the ball a lot season but sometimes the team did not have a player who could run very fast. Jaylen Waddle is one of the players in the league. He will play with an experienced receiver like Courtland Sutton. This will give Bo Nix a group of receivers who can catch the ball.
- The Contract
The Broncos are not just getting Jaylen Waddle they are also taking on his contract. Jaylen Waddle has a contract for $84.8 million. The Broncos think that Jaylen Waddle is in his years and will play very well.
Miami is Starting Over
If you like the Dolphins this trade might be sad.. It is not a surprise. The new leaders of the Dolphins Jon-Eric Sullivan and Jeff Hafley are making changes.
First they let Tua Tagovailoa go, which cost them a lot of money. Then they said goodbye to players like Tyreek Hill and Bradley Chubb. Trading Jaylen Waddle is the part of their plan to start over.
Why Miami Made This Move
The Dolphins now have two first-round picks in the 2026 draft. This draft has a lot of wide receivers. By trading Jaylen Waddle the Dolphins get space to sign new players and they get assets to build their team around their new quarterback, Malik Willis.
Who Won the Trade?
In the term the Broncos win. They just got a player who can help them win. If Bo Nix stays healthy the Broncos might go to the Super Bowl.
In the term the Dolphins might win. They are making changes but they will have a lot of money to sign new players and they will have a young team.
Who is the best NFL running back of all-time?
In 1989, from Wichita, Kansas, 5’8″ and 203 pounds running back named Barry Sanders, was drafted. And he was worth every penny.
A 10× Pro Bowler, 6× First-team, 4× Second-team All-Pro, NFL Most Valuable Player (1997), 2× NFL Offensive Player of the Year (1994, 1997), 4× NFL rushing yards leader (1990, 1994, 1996, 1997), NFL rushing touchdowns leader (1991), NFL Offensive rookie of the year (1989), Heisman Trophy Winner in 1988 and a member of the NFL 1990s All-Decade Team, Pro Football Hall of Fame (Class of 2004) and the College Hall of Fame.
Sanders’ instinctive approach to the game produced 10 seasons of at least a 1,000 rushing yards, but it was his fiery will to compete which made him the only NFL running back to rush for over 15,000 yards in a 153 starts.
It was hard to believe that one so small running back could prove to be such a current of terror, yet, so ominously calm. His sprinting draw was a whirlwind of its own. Everything about him was constant motion, shifting and hips moving. His ankles were like ball joints, the foot stayed flat as the legs cut lean laterally.
Sanders attended the University of Oklahoma State where he didn’t start right away, as it was the case in high-school. But in his junior season, Sanders rushed for 2,850 rushing yards and scored 42 touchdowns on the ground, breaking 34 NCAA Division I.
He averaged the highest rushing yards per game in a season with 238.9 yards.
Sanders was a force that year scoring 238 pts.
And 4 300+ yard games in a season.
In the 1989 NFL Draft, the Lions selected him #3 overall.
It didn’t take long for him before setting the stage on fire…
In his 10 year-career, Sanders never averaged less than 4.3 yards/carry. The fewest yards he ever rushed for in a single season…1,115. And he only played 11 games that season due to a knee injury!
He was high-voltage. Charged with the motor of a race-car. He had tree-trunk legs. In the weight room at his alma mater, Sanders used to squat 600 pounds. And on the field, he unleashed the powerful thrust of those legs like the uncoiling of huge steel springs. Like I said, he was high-voltage.
Sanders’s uncanny ability to cut back was the main reason why defenders couldn’t tackle him. He was too slippery, too strong in the thighs to go down after a big hit. He had the rage of a storming river. His combination of power and speed make him easily the most feared back to ever play in the NFL.
As a matter of fact I once saw him against New England and he scored two touchdowns, of 35 and 39, and had a 131-yard day. It was ridiculous.
Barry was awesome because he never trash-talked anybody, he ate you up and then immediately gave the ball back to the official after a touchdown. Sanders never uttered once a syllable of trash-talk. Thinking about it I’m not sure he even spiked the ball once after a touchdown either.
Against Dallas in 1991 Sanders hit a stuffed hole, then, after stopping on a dime, hopped back about 2 yards like a rabbit; and then, when the hole cleared, Sanders hit the warp drive and burst through for a touchdown.
But the playoff runs were not as electrifying as Sanders’ regular season success. The Lions fell to the Redskins in the 19991 N.F.C. Championship 41–10, in a crushing defeat.
The team, could not find the medicine to make a push at the Super Bowl Championship.
The years kept passing…
And the results kept matching…
From miserable playoff push losses on the road…
To tragic lost playoff games at home.
It was not all which would seem to grow frustration on Sanders, soon, the Lions had to make a head coaching change and after firing Wayne Fontes, hired head coach Bobby Ross who was determined in running a Power I system.
In the first two games of the 1998 season, Sanders had just 43 rushing yards combined.
Until he blossomed…
Sanders finished the season stone-cold with 2.053 rushing yards averaging 6.1 yards/carry.
Six times he scored digit rushing touchdowns, finishing his career with a total of 99.
I don’t think I’ve seen somebody else run better than what he did in 1994. That season he rushed for:
- 1,883 yards.
- 5.7 yards/carry.
- 0 fumbles.
He left the the City of Detroit many great memories.
His father William was frequently counseling him on the sidelines.
But on July 27th 1999, Sanders abruptly retired. Leaving the NFL just less than 1,500 yard short of the All-Time NFL rushing-yard title at the time and without playing in an NFL Super Bowl Championship.
He is definitively among the very best players to ever play this game.
Who is the best running back of all time?
As a Raider fan for life, my answer is, of course, Walter Payton.
Why? Because Sweetness played harder than anyone.
(1) He could run. He retired as leader in career yards. He was an All Pro behind bad lines a few times. He could run hard between tackles or fast around the outside.
(2) He could catch. He had almost 500 career receptions back when RBs weren’t expected to be good pass catchers
(3) He was a DEVASTATING blocker. He knew how to pass protect and could flatten a pass rusher.
(4) He could throw the ball. He had 8 TD passes in his career.
(5) EVERYBODY loved him. He was a better person than he was a football player.
Is Walter Payton the greatest NFL running back of all time?
I’m not sure I’d would put Payton at #1. NOTE: I didn’t watch Jim Brown week in and week out. He hung it up while I was in diapers. That said, Barry Sanders was the most electrifying for me, with OJ just a hair behind him. Earl Campbell was the most punishing RB ever. Eric Dickerson was the smoothest, and I wish I had space on my RB Rushmore for All Day, Adrian Peterson.
However, Sweetness is absolutely the most complete running back who ever lived. Hands down.
Blocking? The man could lead block like a fullback.
Pass catching? I believe that Walter is still the Bears’ all-time reception leader. He was a threat downfield as well as swing passes.
Throwing? He threw 8 TD passes in his career – most ever by a non-QB in NFL history. Threw a TIGHT spiral – often better than a lot of the QBs he played with – and I’m not kidding. I believe in one game (vs GB?) that he was an emergency QB in a game, and the Bears ran a sort of wildcat/single wing for a while using #34. According to Pro Football Reference, he punted once, but he never kicked – I could have sworn he kicked a PAT – something he did regularly in college at Jackson State.
I didn’t even bother to bring up his inimitable running style because, well, everyone else will. He could blown you up with his “Never die easy” running style. Once, I saw Ronnie Lott absolutely blast him – a killshot that should have dropped Payton for at least a play. Yet, they both went sideways – the only time I ever saw that happen with Lott. He could take it the distance, and only Derrick Henry had a better straight arm. (He had 40 lbs on Payton, so he ought to!)
The only (minor) blemish you could tag him with was his lack of a true 5th gear. He didn’t have the breakaway speed of Tony Dorsett or OJ, but I don’t remember him getting caught from behind very often.
Oh and durable? Walter had nearly 1,500 carries AFTER he turned 30.
In summary, Sweetness is on my Mount Rushmore of RBs. He came up in a crowded era – OJ, Foreman, Franco, Lydell Mitchell, Czonka, Dorsett… and then along came Eric Dickerson, the criminally underrated Billy Sims, Earl Campbell, and many more. All of them, and he was always at or near the top of the heap.
UPDATE: Some folks brought up Marcus Allen. He would be my #2 as an all-around back. Why?
Blocking – In college, Marcus was the fullback, rushing for 653 yards and 8TDs, but most importantly, lead blocking for Charles White to win the Heisman. Then after White leaves, Allen moves to tailback and leads the national in total offense and HE wins the Heisman. I don’t think THAT will ever happen again.
Then after the Raiders get Bo Jackson, Allen plays FB again. Some of that was surely due to the insane feud he had with Al Davis (I’ve heard a few theories, but I won’t touch em), but Allen was still leading LA in rushing yardage and one season catching 51 passes.
Receiving – Allen caught 587 passes in his career, and for 3 seasons in a row, caught 60+ passes.
Passing – Allen was a HS QB. In fact I remembered watching his highlights on TV as he QB’ed Lincoln High (same school that later produced Terrell Davis) to a city title. Allen threw a great spiral (better than Marc Wilson for sure …lol) and threw 6TDs in his career – with just 1 pick in 27 attempts. A lot of HB passers throw some really bad balls. Allen wasn’t one of them.
I but Allen below Sweetness because as great a runner he was, Payton was better and for longer. Allen’s numbers are hurt by Davis burying him for about 4 seasons, but it actually extended his career and allowed him to kick ass in KC in his mid-30s. That said, I’d still take Payton.