Jaylen Waddle – July 29, 2024
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Monday, July 29, 2024
WR Jaylen Waddle
(I actually want to talk wide receiver draft. Did you have the first pick?) – “No, I did not. I didn’t have the first pick. Me and ‘Reek’ (Tyreek Hill) like paper-rock-scissors or something for it. I didn’t have the first pick, but I had the second pick. I’m pretty happy with my second. My first-round pick, he’s been producing. My later draft picks, we’ve got to step it up some. I think we’re down – ‘Reek’ had a bomb today. So we might be down, but it was a tied ballgame going into today.”
(Can you please explain to me why WR River Cracraft is a first-round pick every year?) – “Him and ‘Reek’ (Tyreek Hill) like got some crazy duo or something like that, but ‘Reek’ always goes with ‘Riv’ (River Cracraft) first overall. ‘Brax’ (Braxton Berrios) was my first overall pick. ‘Brax’ has been producing, man.”
(But your bench players have to step up.) – “My bench players have got to step it up. They’ve got to, they’ve got to. (laughter)”
(So who gets WR Odell Beckham Jr. when he comes back?) – “We’re arguing right there now. Me and ‘Reek’ (Tyreek Hill), we’ve got our GM hats on right now, so we’re battling for who’s going to get ‘O’ (Odell Beckham Jr.) when he comes back.”
(Speaking of GM hats, your thoughts on the QB Tua Tagovailoa deal getting done?) – “Oh yeah, it’s great. It’s great. I look at him a little different now after seeing his contract, but man, I’m just happy for him especially the type of relationship that we have outside of the field. Happy for him, his family and it’s just great.”
(You guys go back to what, like 2018?) – “2018, 2018.”
(There’s a real chance you guys might play a decade-plus together…) – “I know, right? Like that’s a lot of ball. He’s got a crazy journey. I’m just going back to at least when I first got into the league, all the stuff that was going around until now; him getting a big deal done. So his journey has been crazy and I’m just happy to be a part of it.”
(You mentioned WR Tyreek Hill earlier. I’m just curious, I’m writing about him. In 2022 when you heard he was coming here compared to now and what you’ve learned under him, how has your opinion maybe changed of him when you first heard he was coming here and to getting to know him over the last couple years?) – “Honestly when I first heard that he was coming here, I thought it was great. It’s always good to play with a lot of playmakers. He’s one that I knew in high school, I grew up watching – him and really Odell (Beckham Jr.), too – so it’s crazy just going and playing with them now. I used to watch their highlights before my high school games. It makes them sound old, but they’re not really old, man.”
(What do you think is the biggest thing that you have taken from WR Tyreek Hill that you’ve incorporated into your game or you think has made you a better player?) – “The big thing, I think his work ethic. He goes at it and he’s got all these accolades, all these different Pro Bowls and All-Pros, and he goes at it with the same approach every day – that no one can guard him, no one is better than him and he just stays hungry. He practices like he’s always got something to prove. So when a guy of that status goes and approach it, you have no choice but to learn and kind of feed off that.”
(You’ve kind of talked about, I think, in the past so I know your teammates have, but when you came as a rookie, you were the guy. You were the No. 1 target. Was there an adjustment when WR Tyreek Hill came? You’d be the No. 1 on a lot of teams in the league. Was it tough for you from a personal standpoint? Like “My targets aren’t going to be the same if I was the clear-cut No. 1 on the team”?) – “No, honestly, man. I come from Alabama. We’ve got a lot of different playmakers out there and we’ve got to feed everyone the ball. Obviously when you grab a guy like Tyreek Hill, you know they’re going to feature him a lot, so it’s all about making the most of the opportunities that you have. The same approach that I had in college got me to where I wanted to go. The same approach that I had when adding a guy like Tyreek and all these different playmakers that we’ve got to have – get the ball.”
(WR Tyreek Hill last year talked about the speed of CB Ethan Bonner, the young corner. Besides his speed, what skills stand out to you with him as he tries to find his way in the league?) – “Man, (Ethan) Bonner probably has had like the craziest jump from I think any player from last year, in my opinion. He just seems like a totally different player out there. He’s more patient at the line. Maybe it’s just a year under his belt. His patience, he’s using his long arms. He obviously knows he can run, so he can stay hip-to-hip with anyone and he’s playing with a lot of confidence out there. I tell ‘EB’ (Ethan Bonner) every day, ‘You’re getting us better.’”
(What does patience mean for a cornerback? When you say “patient” what does that mean?) – “Patient at the line of scrimmage. They run a lot of Cover 1. It’s best-on-best and just staying patient at the line, waiting until the receiver does his move and being confident, shooting his hands. He’s playing great ball.”
(How is he consistently posting one of the fastest mile per hour times last season?) – “I ain’t going to lie. Like he was on special teams, I was telling Mike (McDaniel), the special teams guys, they’re going to always get the highest mile per hour, so it’s different. (laughter) But Bonner is running though. Bonner – besides the point – but Bonner is one of the fastest guys on the team. I think people be thinking we be joking, but Bonner is probably top three.”
(Speaking of special teams, the new kickoff rule. Have you lobbied to be a kickoff returner for this team?) – “Me and Mike (McDaniel) and ‘Reek’ (Tyreek Hill) had talked about it a little bit before the first or second practice. We talked about it a little bit. Yeah, it’d be something, but I mean ‘Brax’ (Braxton Berrios) is a dangerous returner, so he’s going to handle business back there.”
(Now that the contract stuff has died and you can get to the football part of it, what does this team need to do – both sides of the football – to get over the hump and be where you want to be at the end of the season?) – “Stay consistent. The later games, we’ve just got to stay consistent, buying in with Mike (McDaniel) and all the guys are preaching and just play together, I think is going to get us over the hump. You look at our roster, I think you can stack us up against anyone in the league and be confident that we can play, but just staying consistent. Obviously being healthy is going to always be key, but honestly just staying consistent.”
(The success you had in Alabama, can you impart some of that on these guys in the locker room?) – “I ain’t going to lie, our locker room is pretty solid. We’ve got a lot of OGs that have done a lot of great stuff in this league and done a lot of winning. We’ve got Super Bowl champions on this team, so I think just adding on that into the locker room is always great and they kind of bring that championship mindset to the team and out there at practice.”
