The Broncos traded for wide receiver Jaylen Waddle this offseason in order to add more explosiveness to their offense, but Waddle wasn’t able to make a difference in their Week 1 loss to the Chiefs.
Week 2 provided more proof of the concept that the Broncos had in mind. Waddle had five catches of at least 14 yards, including a 49-yard leaping grab over a defender to set up Denver’s first points of the day in the second quarter. Waddle wound up with eight catches for 138 yards as the Broncos came back from 10 points down to beat the Jaguars 20-13 at home on Sunday.
Head coach Sean Payton said Waddle’s impact on the game was “significant” and fellow wideout Courtland Sutton said that he thinks even bigger things are coming.
“I think that’s only the tip of the iceberg for him,” Sutton said, via the team’s website. “We have more plays in our back pocket that we didn’t even get to get to. And for him to be able go out there and do what he did and us be able to have the success, and him being able to go and put together a very efficient day today, it was very promising. And I look forward to seeing where that goes the rest of the season.”
The first seven quarters of the Broncos’ season produced 16 points and 444 yards, which set the stage for a lot of hand-wringing about the state of the offense if the fourth quarter on Sunday went in a similar direction. The Broncos picked up 124 yards and 14 points to pull out the win, which makes it easier to talk about the brightness of a future with Waddle playing a central role in the passing game.
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