Jaylen Waddle – December 13, 2021
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Monday, December 13, 2021
WR Jaylen Waddle
(How did you spend the bye weekend? Did you watch much football yesterday, including eyes on former Alabama teammates?) – “I watched some of the earlier games a little bit but nah, I was just on Netflix.”
(The last time we talked to QB Tua Tagovailoa he said that he was going to spend some of the bye week time evaluating some of the situations where he missed guys who were open. I was thinking about that time he gave you a hard time the time you dropped the ball. I was wondering when you’re watching film and you’re definitely open, do you give him a hard time either in the film room or sideline during games?) – “Nah, not for real because he normally has a good reason why he was looking the other way, maybe a read. He has a lot of stuff going on in his head. The last thing he needs is me in the back of his head telling him to throw me the ball or something like that.”
(You probably are open a lot though?) – “(laughter) I get the job done.”
(What were you watching on Netflix?) – “It was a mix. I was on HBO and Netflix. I watch all types of stuff.”
(Name one show. What got the award for best show of the week from Jaylen Waddle?) – “Best show of the week? I went to the movie theater – Eternals. That was the best thing I watched during the bye. Eternals for sure.”
(I asked you this a couple of weeks ago about being a full-service wide receiver, proving that you’re not just a speed guy. Did you come into this year with that as the goal or vision? Or did you just develop that way?) – “Not necessarily. I always try to showcase more than just running down and showcasing speed from in college. I wouldn’t say just the goal, honestly. Anytime I get the chance to showcase route-running or deception in a route, I try to.”
(How much do you think speed helps because of teams fearful of getting beat over the top?) –“It definitely helps a lot. Sometimes it stands out. I could run a great route and because I’m running at such a high speed, people forget how I got open at the top of the route. They’ll just see someone running fast.”
(You run your routes at the same speed as opposed to a different speed on a nine route?) – “Sometimes. I try to switch it up. I try to give a little bit of deception. I try to set things up. Things like that. I try to keep them off guard, on their feet, on their toes.”
(Do you like playing the slot?) – “Yeah. of course. I like playing anywhere really. I spend a lot of time in the slot and spent a lot of time in the slot in college. I got to play outside in college a little bit and playing outside here a lot more. I like it.”
(I’ve been asking players about their experience on national signing day since it’s coming up Wednesday. You went to Alabama where they were probably signing 100 guys that day, but what was that day like for you and how much pressure, if any, did you feel when you got up that morning to maybe go elsewhere?) – “I remember it. I didn’t even go to school that day. I had missed school and just went to signing day. (laughter) I was like, ‘Man, everybody is going to be asking me questions. Everybody is going to be asking me where I’m going and things like that.’ So I just showed up to the gym, family there, everybody there. It was a great time, honestly. A real special moment in my life, just making a decision. Everyone being there, my whole school supporting me, my family supporting me. It was just a great day.”
(Did you know and did everybody else know that it was going to be Alabama when you got there? Or was it a up in the air for at least the public?) – “It was definitely up in the air. I had four or five hats on the table. I had a top five. I had like five hats on the table.”
(You did the hat thing. I guess that’s a big attraction for some guys?) – “Yes. It was definitely big.”
(During this whole interview you’re smiling – how much fun are you having this season? Did you think things would work out this well or be this easy for you in your first season in the NFL?) – “It’s fun coming out here and competing, competing against the best week in and week out. Going to war with guys that you like in the locker room. It’s fun going out there and competing. A lot of these guys I used to watch on Sundays. You see them week in and week out and you’re like ‘man, I’m a fan of him, I’m a fan of him.’ It’s a cool experience. I’m just taking it all in really.”
(What about when that fan burns their favorite cornerback or something? How is that experience going up against a guy you kind of like – ‘hey I remember him.’ And then you catch him for a nice route or whatever the case may be?) – “In the game, I try to be calm and not get too hyped, because I could burn a lot of energy getting hyped. It’s normally like, ‘Man, I caught that on (so and so) and I’m a fan of his,’ because I’m a fan of a lot of DBs in this league. I respect a lot of DBs in this league. Any time I get a chance to go against them and make a play or things like that, and then when they make a play on me, I try to learn from it and move on, and try to use it against a similar corner to them.”
(Was there a DB this season that you caught and the next day you were like ‘I got that dude pretty good?’) – “Yeah, definitely.”
(You’re not going to disclose the name?) – “Nah. (laughter)”
