The Dolphins selected Alabama wide receiver Jaylen Waddle with the No. 6 pick in the first round of the 2021 NFL draft, reuniting the dynamic playmaker with his college quarterback Tua Tagovailoa on offense.
Only time will tell if the Miami Dolphins’ pre-draft trade maneuvering will pay off.
But Dolphins coach Brian Flores and general manager Chris Grier certainly hope their top pick they ended up with pans out for the franchise.
The Dolphins selected Alabama wide receiver Jaylen Waddle with the No. 6 pick in the first round of the 2021 NFL draft, adding a dynamic playmaker to support quarterback Tua Tagovailoa on offense.
The Dolphins also have the No. 18 in the first round on Thursday night.
The pick is another step in the third year of the Dolphins’ extensive rebuilding process led by Flores and Grier, who negotiated two trades a month before the draft to turn Miami’s original pick at No. 3 into more assets for the franchise.
Here’s the draft unfolded as a result:
The Jacksonville Jaguars took Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence with the first pick as expected, followed by the New York Jets drafting BYU quarterback Zach Wilson with the second pick.
San Francisco, who made a deal with Miami to pick third, made the first splash of the draft taking North Dakota State quarterback Trey Lance.
After the run of quarterbacks, which the Dolphins got out of to secure more draft capital, the Atlanta Falcons took dynamic Florida tight end Kyle Pitts, considered a generational talent during the draft process, with the No. 4 pick.
With the fifth pick, the Cincinnati Bengals took LSU receiver Ja’Marr Chase, pairing him once again with his college quarterback Joe Burrow.
With Waddle, the Dolphins get a dynamic kick returner, and slot receiver who can also play on the outside.
Waddle had more than 120 receiving yards in his first four games of the 2020 season before breaking his ankle on the opening kickoff in the fifth game of the season. He had 25 catches for 557 yards (22.3 yards per catch) with four touchdowns before the injury on Oct. 24.
He was able to play during the national title game on Jan. 11, but was not at 100 percent, limping while playing his way to three catches and 34 yards against Ohio State.
At Alabama, Waddle caught 106 passes for 1,999 yards (18.9 yards per catch) with 17 touchdowns in 34 games.
Waddle also averaged 19.3 yards per punt return, 23.8 yards per kick return, and scored three return touchdowns in his college career.
The Dolphins winded up with the No. 6 pick following two trades a month before the draft.
Miami sent its No. 3 pick from the Houston Texans to the San Francisco 49ers for the No. 12 pick, first-round picks in the 2022 and 2023, and a third-round pick in 2022.
Shortly after, the Dolphins sent the No. 12 pick, a fourth-round pick this year, and their 2022 first-round pick to the Philadelphia Eagles for the No. 6 pick and a fifth-round pick they’ll use Saturday.
The Dolphins hope their aggressive negotiations, which resulted in them trading down three spots to land Waddle, a fifth-round pick, a third-round pick in 2022, and a first-round pick in 2023 ultimately pays off.
After the first round, the Dolphins have picks Nos. 36 and 50 in the second round and No. 81 in the third round on Friday. Miami also has one fifth-round pick and two seventh-round picks on Saturday.
