The 2021 NFL Draft should have been incredible for the Miami Dolphins. It wasn’t. It has been just so-so.

The Dolphins had two first-round picks and a second-round selection. They were picking third overall and had a choice between Ja’Marr Chase, Kyle Pitts, Penei Sewell, and, yes, Jaylen Waddle. They opted to trade with San Francisco. Goodbye, Chase, Pitts, and Sewell. Miami, however, couldn’t stay at 12, so they moved back up and took Waddle.

Waddle exploded out of the gates and still is setting reception records, but is he really a number one wide receiver? His salary indicates that he is.

Waddle is not a game-changing receiver like Chase. He isn’t a shutdown future Hall of Fame left tackle like Sewell, and you could make an argument that he isn’t much better than his Alabama teammate, Eagles wide receiver DeVonta Smith, who was taken with pick 10 as part of the Dolphins trading up and down early in the round.

Waddle has a cool dance that fans love, but he has been in the end zone only twice this year and 20 times in his career. Chase has 15 in 2024 alone and 44 over the same span of seasons. Chase is considered a star WR1; most don’t see Waddle as the same.

Jaylen Waddle career numbers vs. Ja’Marr Chase and DeVonta Smith

There is a lot to like about Waddle, but we need to see him for who he is. A number two wide receiver, at best, who runs good routes, is fast, and most of the time has good hands, but he lacks the physical presence of top receivers like Chase or A.J. Brown.

Miami doesn’t need him to be like those two or any others, but they need him to be better than he is. The 2024 season has been a letdown for a lot of players, but this incredible draft opportunity brought Dolphins fans Waddle, an oft-injured but talented Jaelan Phillips, a disappearing Jevon Holland, and Liam Eichenberg, who they actually traded up for.

The 2021 draft isn’t looking as good as it could have been for the Dolphins

Aside from Sewell and Chase, Miami could have stayed at 12 and taken Micah Parsons, solving their linebacker problem. They took Waddle. While he has great numbers to start his career, his injury situations are starting to catch up. He will miss some time, in all likelihood, after suffering a knee injury last week, but it isn’t just about availability. It’s about what he does when he is on the field.

This season, Waddle has three games at or above 99 yards, but in no other game did he post higher than 57 yards. In fact, he only hit 50+ yards twice all year. Regardless of the quarterback, those numbers are not good for a guy being paid over $80 million.

It’s hard to know what the future will be as it relates to Waddle, but if we are being honest, he isn’t as impressive as he should be. The former first-rounder has a lot to prove moving forward.