‘Glad he’s ours’: Waddle’s breakout rewards Broncos’ blockbuster trade

One catch for two yards. That was Jaylen Waddle’s Broncos debut, a Monday night clunker at Kansas City that left Denver 0-1 and the offseason’s marquee acquisition looking like an odd fit in a new offense.

Six days later, he didn’t just fit the offense — he was the offense.

Waddle hauled in eight catches for 138 yards Sunday in Denver’s 20-13 comeback victory over Jacksonville, earning a game ball from coach Sean Payton after the biggest receiving day Waddle has had since he posted 144 yards against New England on Nov. 24, 2024, while still a Dolphin.

“Oh, it was significant, right?” Payton said of Waddle. “You can see the explosiveness, the run after the catch, all of those things. So, glad he’s ours.”

The Broncos surrendered a 2026 first-round pick and more to Miami in March to acquire Waddle, aiming to reshape their passing attack around him, Courtland Sutton and quarterback Bo Nix. After one invisible outing, the investment began to pay dividends for a Broncos team trailing at home.

With Denver trailing 7-3 in the first half, Nix was flushed right out of the pocket but uncorked a throw to the left side of the field, where Waddle had run a deep post behind safeties who bit on underneath. The 49-yard connection put the ball at the 1-yard line — though the Broncos settled for a Wil Lutz field goal.

“Bo just being Bo, extended,” Waddle said. “He’s very athletic. He’s scrambling right and kind of just threw it out there and let me go out there and try to make a play for him.”

Nix offered a more detailed breakdown.

“We got them in their quarters, and their two deep safeties bit on the deeper hooks we had,” Nix said. “He did a really good job keeping it thin at the beginning, but then adjusting to the football and leaving me some space to throw it.”

Waddle’s next big play put the game on ice.

With Denver nursing a 20-13 lead in the fourth quarter and facing third-and-short, offensive coordinator Davis Bowen dialed up a double move that left Waddle streaking wide open down the right sideline for a first down that helped the Broncos chew through the final minutes.

“We kind of had an idea,” Waddle said. “Credit all the game planners that drew that up, kind of knew what they were going to be in, and just the situation that the game held.”

Offensive lineman Garett Bolles, part of the blocking that kept Nix upright long enough to let those plays develop, put it simply.

“It was great. There’s a reason we traded a first for him — for moments like that, for big plays,” Bolles said.

Beyond the stat line, Waddle’s teammates and coaches pointed to something less tangible: his energy. Payton called him “infectious” and said the sixth-year receiver “doesn’t have bad days.” Nix described a player whose positive outlook has already begun to spread through a young roster.

“He hasn’t necessarily had the success as of late that he wants in his career, by wins-and-loss perspective,” Nix said. “But now he’s got a new opportunity, and he’s making the most of it.”

Asked whether Sunday felt like a sense of relief after a quiet debut, Waddle pushed back.

“I wouldn’t say a sense of relief,” he said. “We go out there and put the grind in each and every day to go out there and compete and make plays on Sunday. But I’m happy that we got the win and the offense put points on the board.”

The Broncos (1-1) host the Los Angeles Rams next Sunday night.

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