Fantasy Football Player Notes

It's Jaylen Waddle SZN! I can't wait to see him ball out in the Denver passing attack. 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. Overall, Denver was fourth in passing attempts behind only Arizona, Cincy, and Dallas last year. Waddle is a stud no matter what metric you look at. Last year, among 109 qualifying wide receivers (per Fantasy Points Data), he was 12th in target per route run rate, 12th in yards per route run, seventh in first downs per route run, 12th in separation score, and 11th in route win rate. He also bested Courtland Sutton in each of those metrics with the exception of route win rate (15.3% vs. 15.5%). Waddle is a flag plant player for me this year. You can easily draft him as a WR2 for your teams this season that has WR1 upside.

Over the last two seasons, Courtland Sutton has been the unquestioned WR1 for Bo Nix and the Denver Broncos. In those seasons, he finished as the WR18 and WR24 in fantasy points per game. 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. Last year, Denver was fourth in pass rate over expectation and passing attempts (per Fantasy Points Data). His per-route data remained solid, but it wasn't spectacular outside of his separation score and route win rate (20th, ninth). Last year, among 109 qualifying receivers, Sutton was 35th in target per route run rate, 32nd in yards per route run, and 29th in first downs per route run. I expect the passing attack to condense around Waddle and Sutton with all of the other receiving options falling in behind them as matchup/coverage specific chess pieces. Sutton is a WR2/3 for 2026.

Pat Bryant quietly carved out a larger role as his rookie season progressed, giving Denver reason to believe he can contribute more in Year 2. The former third-round pick earned increased playing time late in the season and showed flashes of reliability before an injury cut short his playoff run. The addition of Jaylen Waddle limits Bryant's path to major target volume, but he still projects as the favorite for the Broncos' No. 3 WR role entering 2026. In deeper formats, Bryant profiles as more of a depth stash tied to offensive growth rather than standalone volume.