Jaylen Waddle vs Joe Burrow

“Sutton has increased target competition in Denver this season after the Broncos traded for Jaylen Waddle , but he has been a consistent TD threat with QB Bo Nix .”

“Jaylen Waddle (DEN) : ADP 42.5 | WR22 While the Miami Dolphins’ offense was inconsistent last season, Waddle ended the year as the WR24, averaging 12.1 PPR fantasy points per game. More importantly, the veteran didn’t need a massive target share to produce top-12 fantasy numbers.”

“Jaylen Waddle (WR – DEN) It seemed in 2025, when Tyreek Hill got injured, that Jaylen Waddle was primed for another massive season.”

“Jaylen Waddle , WR21 (Miami to Denver) It’s Jaylen Waddle SZN!”

“With the passing attack expected to condense around just two clear focal points this year, Waddle projects as the offense’s unquestioned wide receiver one.”

“Jaylen Waddle could vastly outproduce his fantasy football ADP. Currently going as the WR23, Waddle has true top-12 upside. After joining the Broncos this offseason, Waddle finds himself alongside an aging Courtland Sutton and a plethora of solid young talent.”

“With Courtland Sutton turning 31 this October and seeing a major drop in efficiency in 2025, it appears Waddle is set up perfectly to be the No. 1 wide receiver in Denver for the next several years. Waddle is valued as the WR20 in ECR, which feels like the floor outcome in PPR leagues.”

“After posting back-to-back 15+ PPR point-per-game seasons to start his NFL career, Waddle seemed destined to usurp Tyreek Hill as the Dolphins' top target earner and establish himself as a top-five fantasy wide receiver overall. Unfortunately, that time never came, as Waddle continued to play second fiddle in Miami.”

“Jaylen Waddle is a favorite draft target in the fifth round based on ADP.”

“The Broncos parted with their first-round pick in the Jaylen Waddle trade.”

“Joining a pass-heavy offense is precisely what Waddle needs to blossom into a fantasy football WR1 in 2026.”

“Jaylen Waddle will receive a sizable environmental upgrade in 2026. The Broncos freed him from the rebuilding Dolphins via a trade, and Waddle will step in as Denver's No. 1 wide receiver alongside a nifty, big-bodied complement in the form of No. 2 wide receiver Courtland Sutton.”

“Lamar Jackson , Jayden Daniels , Joe Burrow , Baker Mayfield , and Kyler Murray all were selected as top-12 players at the position and finished double-digit slots behind expectations in terms of points per game.”

“Round 1: Joe Burrow (QB – CIN) To kick things off at No. 4 overall, I went with Joe Burrow .”

“Even with a modest target share, Higgins maximizes his opportunities in one of the NFL’s premier passing offenses led by Joe Burrow .”

“The pivot to more under-center passing won’t be as natural and certainly might not be anywhere near as successful for the Bengals, because Burrow clearly isn’t as comfortable and doesn’t perform as well. In fact, if we go back the last three years, Burrow’s under-center dropbacks average just 3.6 air yards, which ranked dead last: #69 out of 69 qualifying QBs. His time to throw of 2.81 seconds was the #5 fastest out of 69 QBs, and he threw just 17% of passes 10+ yards downfield, also ranking dead last.”

“Zac Taylor wants the Bengals to play more from under center in 2026. Unfortunately, Joe Burrow under center is precisely where this offense struggles most, which is why the Bengals haven't used it often of late. How much the Bengals choose to pivot to under-center passing and how much Burrow can improve on these dropbacks might have a large impact on their fortunes in 2026.”

“Overvalued: Joe Burrow, Quarterback (QB4, Pick 59 OVR) Now, this isn’t to say that I don’t like Joe Burrow, or that I don’t think that Joe Burrow is a talented player; I just think that Joe Burrow is capped insofar as he doesn’t rush at all, and the Bengals’ offensive line isn’t strong enough for him to be a consistent top-four player without the rushing.”

“Of the top-10 quarterbacks based on LTV, Burrow is the one quarterback with little to no rushing upside, making him the quarterback I would want to trade away.”

“Burrow was once again impactful when on the field, completing 66.8% of his passes for a 6.6% touchdown rate. Burrow is the only quarterback with a touchdown rate of 6% or higher in each of the past two seasons.”

“Despite finishing the season as the QB29 last season due to missed games, Burrow finished the season red hot. Through the final six weeks of 2025, Burrow was on pace for 4500+ passing yards and 43 passing TDs. Since 2023, Burrow in Week 1 has been atrocious.”

“Over the last four seasons, Burrow has established himself as one of the NFL's premier fantasy quarterbacks even without the rushing upside of the Allen/Lamar types. He finished as the overall QB3 or better for 14 weeks in that span. What's wild is he missed 17 games in that span!”

“Joe Burrow's health has been the biggest hurdle for this team in recent seasons. If he remains healthy, Burrow will put up MVP numbers, and the Bengals will be in the thick of the playoff hunt in a loaded AFC field of contenders.”

“Seeing Joe Burrow go ahead of quarterbacks like Lamar Jackson and Drake Maye is quite shocking, but Burrow is firmly going as the QB2 on Fantrax. If Burrow were to have another season like 2024, with 45 total touchdowns and almost 5,000 passing yards, he would be worthy of this selection. But we also have to consider the possibility of a repeat of his 2025 season, in which Burrow played only eight games and threw 17 passing touchdowns while finishing with fewer than 2,000 yards in half a season.”