The full accounting on the Jaylen Waddle trade was finished at the 2026 NFL Draft, when the Dolphins’ earlier move with the Broncos finally turned into a player on the board. Miami used the 30th pick in the first round, along with pick 90 overall, to move up to No. 27 and select San Diego State cornerback Chris Johnson.
That made the draft the moment when the trade stopped being paperwork and became football. The 2026 NFL Draft is where picks swapped in earlier years turn into actual players, and Miami used that chance to close one chapter while opening another.
Waddle, 27, went to Denver in the trade and remains one of the steadier receivers in the league. He came off a 2025 season in which he had 64 catches for 910 yards and six touchdowns for Miami, averaging 56.9 yards per game and 14.2 yards per reception. He is under contract on a three-year, $84.75 million deal through 2028.
The Dolphins’ decision lands in the middle of a franchise that has been trying to reset after another rough year. Miami finished 7-10 in 2025, benched starting quarterback Tua Tagovailoa in December and lost Tyreek Hill to a season-ending injury in Week 4. Even with that turbulence, Waddle’s production held up. He opened his career with three straight 1,000-yard seasons after being taken in the first round in 2021, and he has 5,039 receiving yards and 26 receiving touchdowns over the last five years.
The trade accounting now has a final shape, and it leaves Miami with a cornerback from San Diego State and Denver with one of the most consistent receivers of the past half-decade. For the Dolphins, the next judgment comes on the field, where a 7-10 season and back-to-back losing records are already on the books.
