3-Round 2021 NFL Mock Draft: Broncos, Bears trade up for quarterbacks
By Randy Gurzi
WR. 11. player. 31. Scouting Report. Pick Analysis. Jaylen Waddle. Alabama
11. New York Giants: Jaylen Waddle, WR, Alabama
The New York Giants added former Detroit Lions star Kenny Golladay in the offseason, which means New York suddenly looks competent at receiver. They do, however, still need to get some depth.
Right now, they have Darius Slayton and John Ross, who could both perform at a high level in spurts — especially with teams needing to focus so intently on Golladay. Having said that, neither is a sure thing so they can’t skip on a player who has elite skills such as Jaylen Waddle should he fall to them as he does in this draft.
A former star at Alabama, Waddle was supposed to be the breakout player in 2020 when Henry Ruggs III and Jerry Jeudy went pro. Waddle, who isn’t built like a prototypical No. 1 wideout, is a burner who was expected to put up the gaudy numbers that DeVonta Smith did. Unfortunately, an ankle injury messed things up for him and he missed most of the year.
Waddle did, however, get back on the field for their title game. He was still clearly hobbled but his desire to push through and play in the big game shows that he has a strong love for the game — which can be contagious.
Adding him gives the Giants all the weapons they need to truly judge whether or not Daniel Jones is the guy or not.