Jaylen Waddle – November 20, 2023
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Monday, November 20, 2023
WR Jaylen Waddle
(We saw WR Tyreek Hill and CB Jalen Ramsey making incredible plays yesterday. What does it do for the team when you have one of those guys on each side of the ball?) – “Man, it’s special. We get to see it every day in practice and how hard they work going at it throughout the week. So really seeing it come to life on Sunday is a joy and it brings a lot of excitement to our team.”
(How have you guys had to adjust as an offense to maybe teams playing a little bit more two-deep and trying to keep everything in front of them?) – “It’s definitely something that we have to get better at going into the games. We know a lot of times we’re going to see a two-high shell. So we try to adjust throughout the week with game plans. I think Mike (McDaniel) does a good job of putting us in position to make plays but sometimes we go out there and see a different look than we probably game-planned for. So going into it, you’ve just got to adjust on the fly.”
(Wide receivers usually rotate in and out. I think you played a season-high in snaps yesterday. Did you feel like you were out there more and was that just feeling fresh coming off the bye week?) – “Yeah, I tried to really make it a key for myself just to stay in more, and try to get all the snaps I can while I’m out there. It really didn’t feel like I was out there a lot, but I didn’t know that.”
(We also saw as soon as WR Tyreek Hill went out, that drive where you guys went down and scored, Head Coach Mike McDaniel got you the ball like three times in a row. Was that something where he or Wide Receivers Coach Wes Welker said something to you or you said something to them, like, I’m ready to kind of get more and more plays? Or was it just kind of natural?) – “I just try to – when they call my number, I just try to make a play whenever they call a play for me. It really wasn’t nothing.”
(So it wasn’t like you said to yourself, hey, he’s going to be looking my way with WR Tyreek Hill out on this series?) – “I kind of figured that’s kind of how it kind of goes. So just knowing that ‘Reek’ (Tyreek Hill) was out, I’d probably get looked at a lot more. Yeah, pretty much.”
(It’s kind of a strange week. I don’t know if there’s ever been a Friday game before, certainly not in a long time.) – “Yeah, I haven’t played on Friday since high school.”
(What’s the schedule for you guys this week? How do you ramp up? How do you get your body right and all that?) – “Yeah, it’s a quick turnaround. It kind of converts to like a Thursday game. It’s kind of like we’re playing earlier so everything’s moved up. We’ll kind of mesh some stuff together. But recovery is going to be key. It was a hard game yesterday. But everything’s moved up. You’ve got to adjust real quick and move on to the next. We’ve got a real tough opponent in the Jets this week. Move quick. Everything’s moving quick this week.”
(What can you do for Thanksgiving, because you guys are probably going to be traveling?) – “Me personally, my people are coming down the day after. We’re probably going to get good grub in then, definitely.”
Did you feel a sense of urgency to step your game up on that drive when WR Tyreek Hill went down and you were kind of the go-to guy that possession?) – “Not really a sense of urgency. Like I said, whenever they call my number, I just try to make a play.”
(OL Terron Armstead and FB Alec Ingold and a couple other guys were talking about how physical it was out there yesterday. Armstead was saying how well-coached he thought the Raiders defense was playing from front to back. The linebackers ran. What did you think of the physicality of that game? You guys responded pretty well. What did you think of the physical side that your offense showed also?) – “Yeah man, it was a physical game. They were a disciplined group. They’re always tied together. It seemed like they were all on a string from the front seven to the DBs. They had a good gameplan, came in, executed it. They played well and did a good job of containing us and they were real physical. But I think we showed how physical we can be. We can move people, get them off the spot. So we did definitely show the characteristic of our offense that’s really not in the spotlight when you look at that amount of speed that we have on the team. But we can get down and get physical too.”
(When have you shown that physical side? Training camp or other games this year? The Chargers game? When have you guys shown that?) – “We show it a lot, to be honest. But like I said, it’s really not spotlighted because everybody just sees the 22, 21 miles per hour running by our players.”
(I’m just curious, have you guys already got the game plan in because it’s a couple days earlier?) – “GQ classified. (laughter)”
(Have you already received it?) – “GQ classified. GQ classified. (laughter) I can’t give you the sauce.”
(The Jets’ defense is pretty well-known. The matchup of your offense versus their defense should be a fun show.) – “Definitely. Yeah, man. The last couple years, they’ve been a good group. Especially since I’ve been in the league, they’ve always been a good group. Well coached. They’ve got players. The front seven is real good, the DBs are real good. So it’s going to be a challenge for us just like every week. But like I said, they are one of the more talented groups in the league, so it’s going to be a challenge.”
(I’m wondering if you talked to RB De’Von Achane on the sideline or after the game? We made so much of his return and we know what he did, 12.1 yards per carry. Then you get out there and two touches – what was his mentality? Was he disappointed? Is he taking it in stride? What would you say is his mentality if you talked to him?) – “De’Von is one of them guys, like he’s a young player, but he’s real mature. So he really doesn’t let it bother him too much. He knows and he’s confident in his abilities. When he gets out there 100 percent healthy, he’s confident that he can go out there and be the player that we need him to be. He just took it on the chin. That’s what comes with playing this game and he’s going to be back and better than ever.”
