Matt Johnson
The 2026 NFL offseason is proving to be one defined by blockbuster trades, with the latest coming on Tuesday. Standout wide receiver Jaylen Waddle is heading to the Denver Broncos, with the 30th overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft headed to the Miami Dolphins. Before we dive into our analysis, here are the trade details from ESPN‘s Adam Schefter.
- Miami Dolphins trade: Jaylen Waddle, 111th overall pick
- Denver Broncos trade: 30th overall pick, 94th overall pick, 130th overall pick
Let’s dive into the winners and losers from this blockbuster deal between the Broncos and Dolphins.
Winner: Bo Nix, QB, Denver Broncos
Broncos quarterback Bo Nix already had great rapport with No. 1 receiver Courtland Sutton, and former Oregon Ducks teammate Troy Franklin (709 receiving yards) is a nice complementary wideout. However, Denver recognized it needed to find a true 1B offensive weapon for this passing game to reach the next level. In 2025, per Pro Football Focus, Nix only finished 13th among quarterbacks in pass attempts 20-plus yards downfield (12.5%).
On those 82 downfield attempts, he threw a league-high 13 touchdowns, ranked 10th in passer rating (105.1), and 12th in completion rate (40.2%). Waddle ranked 19th in average target distance (13.1) this past season and 10th in yards per route run (2.41). Nix now has someone who can stretch the field and potentially increase his rate of attacking the intermediate areas (10–19 yards) after he finished 36th (16.6%) in that area this past season.
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Loser: Malik Willis, QB, Miami Dolphins
Malik Willis signed with the Dolphins to prove that he can become a viable starting quarterback in the NFL, choosing them over the Arizona Cardinals. Miami offered the familiarity of working in an organization with Jon-Eric Sullivan and Jeff Hafley, who were also previously with the Green Bay Packers, whereas Arizona would be more of an unknown with the benefit of passing to Trey McBride, Marvin Harrison Jr., and Michael Wilson.
Following the Jaylen Waddle trade, the Dolphins’ depth chart at receiver is now headlined by Jalen Tolbert, Tutu Atwell, and Malik Washington. There are certainly some deep threats there, but Tolbert has only eclipsed 500 receiving yards once in his career (610 in 2024), while the career-highs for Washington (317) and Atwell (562) are much lower. Opponents can stack the box to focus on De’Von Achane, leave their corners in man coverage, and take advantage of a bottom-10 offensive line. That’s not exactly a supporting cast built to make Willis look better.
Related: 5 NFL Teams Seemingly Poised to Tank in 2026
Winner: Jon-Eric Sullivan, Miami Dolphins General Manager
The biggest winner in this deal from the Dolphins’ perspective is first-year general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan. It seemed fairly evident based on the club’s offseason moves that this would be more of a rebuild. Sullivan also made it clear in speaking to reporters that he would build this team through the NFL Draft. Acquiring the 30th overall pick and 94th overall pick for Waddle, while shedding his contract off the books, will certainly help the draft-and-develop philosophy.
There are plenty who don’t like rebuilds and may see this move as being similar to tanking in the NBA. However, teams should be built either for contending for a Super Bowl in the short term or slowly building the infrastructure to become a perennial playoff contender long term. Miami had no shot of contending next season, so this is the right approach for the future.
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Loser: LA Chargers, KC Chiefs
In the same offseason where the Kansas City Chiefs saw both of their top cornerbacks land with the Los Angeles Rams and the Los Angeles Chargers lost renowned defensive coordinator Jesse Minter, Denver’s offense gets better. Kansas City will now likely be throwing out two new starting corners against Jaylen Waddle and Courtland Sutton twice per season. Meanwhile, the brilliant defensive mind who schemed around the Chargers’ talent deficiencies in the secondary is now gone, and the Broncos’ offense just improved significantly. Today was not a good day for Los Angeles and Kansas City, but it will get even worse for them when they face Denver.
Read More: Early Bold Predictions for 2026 NFL Draft
Winner: Davis Webb, Denver Broncos Offensive Coordinator
Let’s all remember that Sean Payton announced back in February that recently promoted offensive coordinator Davis Webb would be the Broncos’ play-caller in 2026. The 31-year-old is highly regarded around the league and has been interviewed by multiple teams with head-coaching vacancies, but he hasn’t gotten the big job because he’s unproven as a play-caller.
Webb now gets to take control of an offense that boasts Sutton, Waddle, and Franklin as his receiver trio, with a healthy J.K. Dobbins at running back to split touches with R.J. Harvey. On top of that, Denver boasts one of the best offensive lines in the NFL. He’s been put in a perfect position to make a name for himself this season. If the Broncos’ offense meets expectations and the team goes on a playoff run, Webb will be an NFL head coach in 2027.
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