Dolphins’ Jaylen Waddle: ‘We’re confident in the guys, it’s gonna be an exciting year’

RICHMOND – It was a year of general regression for the Miami Dolphins as injuries and inconsistent play heavily impacted their season.

After two years of making the playoffs under the direction of coach Mike McDaniel, the Dolphins took a step back and finished 8-9 as they didn’t qualify for the postseason.

And the passing game went awry at times as quarterback Tua Tagovailoa was limited to 11 starts, 2,867 yards and 19 touchdowns. If he had played a full season while completing a career-high 72.9 percent of his throws, perhaps the Dolphins would have won more games.

Plus, star wide receiver Jaylen Waddle didn’t reach 1,000 receiving yards for the first time in his career. He finished with 58 catches for 744 yards and two touchdowns.

A slow start hit the Dolphins hard as they began the season 2-6 and Waddle had 28 catches for 310 yards and one score during the first half of the year.

Now, the Episcopal graduate is upbeat that the Dolphins are primed to turn things around.

“I’m feeling good, man,” Waddle told KPRC 2 during Steven Sims’ football camp at Travis High School. “A lot of pieces coming back from last year. Added some pieces that can help us out, win some games.”

The Dolphins recently traded cornerback Jalen Ramsey and tight end Jonnu Smith to the Pittsburgh Steelers and acquired safety Minkah Fitzpatrick.

“We’re confident in the guys that we got,” Waddle said. “They’re confident in their coaching. So, it’s gonna be an exciting year.”

There was a span where the Dolphins got hot as Waddle and Tagovailoa displayed the chemistry that coincides with their shared time together in Miami and previously at Alabama. The Dolphins won four of five games after Tagovailoa returned from injuries and Waddle had 390 receiving yards in that time.

Three years ago, Waddle caught a career-high eight touchdowns with 1,356 yards on 75 catches. As a rookie, he caught a career-high 104 passes for 1,015 yards on 140 targets. Catching passes primarily from Tagovailoa, Waddle has 309 career receptions for 4,129 yards and 20 touchdowns

“Yeah, man, that’s what happens when you’re playing with a guy that’s been going on six, seven years now,” said Waddle, who signed a three-year, $84.75 million contract extension in 2024. “Yeah, just a lot of chemistry there.”

Tagovailoa told Miami reporters he has high expectations for the connection with Waddle, and wide receiver Tyreek Hill.

“We’re continuing to grow our chemistry with one another,” Tagovailoa said. “For the past year, for the past two years, it’s really been me and ‘Reek kind of getting on that same page. But if me and Waddle can get together and continue to make strides throughout these last few days of minicamp, I think it’s going to lead into some pretty good things preparing us for training camp.”

Aaron Wilson is a Texans and NFL reporter for KPRC 2 and click2houston.com