Jaylen Waddle
vs Joe Burrow

“Jaylen Waddle was the prince who was promised to solve all of Denver’s offensive issues and to finally be the joker that Sean Payton craved for the Broncos. Unfortunately, over four games, he has as many weekly finishes below 5.5 half-PPR points as he does above 12.0. half-PPR points While it can be frustrating to see that kind of return from Waddle, it’s abundantly clear when you look at the film and the stats that this isn’t on him.”

“This year, we have JK Dobbins swearing to the old gods and new that he will play 17 games, and a rookie RB Jonah Coleman getting rave reviews in camp (ready to step in when Dobbins does inevitably get hurt); Jaylen Waddle is exactly what this team needs offensively , offering up YAC opportunities, strong route running in the short + intermediate part of the field, and a level of improvisation with Nix that Franklin + Mimms just weren’t able to offer.”

“Waddle should get a wonderful infusion of volume this season, moving from an offense that was 29th in neutral passing rate to one that was fourth in that metric last season.”

“Now the alpha receiver for the Broncos, Waddle will bring his electric route-running to an offense that thrives upon precision and isn’t afraid to sling it. Fantasy managers can look for a spike in Waddle’s yards per route run and target rate, as Courtland Sutton draws away defensive attention downfield.”

“Jaylen Waddle (WR – DEN) “ Jaylen Waddle is one of my favorite targets this year because I think people are looking too much at last season’s final numbers and not enough at how well he actually played. He ranked 12th in targets per route run, 12th in yards per route run, and seventh in first downs per route run, so the talent and efficiency are clearly still there.”

“4.11: Jaylen Waddle (WR – DEN) Jaylen Waddle is being overlooked as he enters his first year with the Broncos. Evan Silva of Establish The Run projects him to a huge year under Sean Payton, comparing him to Brandin Cooks during his time in New Orleans.”

“Adding Jaylen Waddle is not some small improvement.”

“The arrival of Jaylen Waddle will change that this year. Sutton still can be a highly productive player in a pass-happy offense, but he’ll take a backseat to Waddle.”

“Bengals Bengals QB Joe Burrow had 58 passing attempts in the loss to the Jaguars on Sunday, but feels that the team can throw it even more going forward.”

“Burrow had an underwhelming opener, but he’s tallied 489 passing yards (244.5 per game), 7.45 adjusted net yards per pass attempt (ANY/A), five passing touchdowns, and zero interceptions in two subsequent contests, scoring 19.88 DraftKings points per game and 19.88 FanDuel points per game in the last two weeks. The Bengals lost a shootout last week, and the Jaguars have the firepower to push Burrow into a ceiling performance through the air. His top passing-game weapon will be featured in the core studs.”

“Joe Burrow may not be a must-start this week, but Chase Brown , Ja’Marr Chase , and Tee Higgins are all auto-starts.”

“According to the Fantasy Points Data Suite 2.0, among 33 quarterbacks with at least 20 dropbacks, Burrow ranks: 13th in passing yards per game (230.5) 19th in adjusted net yards per pass attempt (6.14 ANY/A) Tied for 14th in passing touchdowns (three) 10th in expected passing touchdowns (3.5) 21st in rushing yards per game (9.5) Interestingly, the Bengals are just fifth in pass rate over expected (6.3% PROE) this year. That’s still pass-happy, but Cincinnati tied for first in PROE (7.9%) from 2023 through 2025. Their defense is better, and the washed-up, Aaron Rodgers -led Steelers are unlikely to push Burrow and Cincinnati’s offense into a shootout.”

“Joe Burrow nearly gifted Tampa Bay a pick-six, the Buccaneers heavily guarded Chase, and Burrow simply could not connect with his WR1. That extra attention also opened things up elsewhere: TE Mike Gesicki finished with five catches for 78 yards and a TD as Tampa Bay focused on containing Chase and Tee Higgins . Look, that does not completely let Chase off the hook.”

“Joe Burrow’s health has been a concern in recent years, but I’ll bank on him playing a full season with one of the easiest schedules in football. I believe 4,500 yards and 40 touchdowns are more than doable.”

“But if Bengals QB Joe Burrow, who missed nine games last season, enjoys a season of good health, McPherson should have his fair share of FG and PAT opportunities.”

“When Joe Burrow was healthy, he was a top-three quarterback last season”

“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.”