Fantasy Football Rankings 2021: Rookie wide receivers and dynasty

2021 Fantasy Football Rookie WR3: Jaylen Waddle

Many analysts have Jaylen Waddle ranked ahead of his more celebrated teammate (more on him later), but while we can split hairs, both are excellent prospects who should be gone by the middle of the first round. We lean towards DeVonta Smith oh-so-slightly, but they’re in the same tier, and it’s close: we’ve flip-flopped before, and reports like Warren Sharp’s make us consider doing it again.

Most analysts are focused on Waddle’s speed and agility, and rightfully so. Some have compared him to former teammate Henry Ruggs, the first wide receiver taken in last year’s draft, but we’re not having it: Ruggs was a straight-line burner; Waddle has more wiggle and far better hands.

Waddle caught over 80 percent of the passes thrown his way in each of his three seasons at Alabama, each of which featured a different Week 1 starter at the quarterback position. He improved in this metric every step of the way, culminating in an unbelievable 87.5 percent catch rate during the 2020 season.

While Waddle never caught more than 45 passes in a season during his college career, we expect him to land in an offense that will put much more mileage on his tires. We love the idea Waddle reuniting with Tua Tagovailoa as a member of the Dolphins, but believe it’s more likely he’ll end up with the Chicago Bears or Tennessee Titans, where he’d serve as a perfect compliment to Allen Robinson or A.J. Brown.