As Sean Payton enters his fourth year as head coach of the Broncos, he’ll have something he’s yet to have in Denver.
A top-flight, clear-cut, No. 1 receiver who can become the centerpiece of the passing game.
Payton last had that in Michael Thomas, who had a historic stretch from 2017 through 2019 as the player Payton routinely schemed open, and who would catch accurate passes thrown to him by Hall of Fame quarterback Drew Brees.
Thomas had 104 catches in 2017 and 125 in 2018. In 2019, he set a single-season record with 149 receptions.
Waddle had 104 catches as a rookie in 2021, the last year before Tyreek Hill showed up. Even with Hill as WR1, Waddle had a pair of 1,000-yard seasons.
Courtland Sutton has had a pair of 1,000-yard seasons in 2024 and 2025, under Payton. But the Broncos and Payton still needed a true No. 1 option in the passing game.
Which explains the decision to give up a first-round pick and a third-round pick for Waddle. (The Broncos and Dolphins also flipped fourth-round picks.)
Waddle’s contract is also very attractive. The Broncos will pay him only $17.24 million this year, well below the current top of the market.
Our guess, as explained during Wednesday’s PFT Live, is that the Broncos will sit tight on his deal for 2026, with a wink-nod that if he delivers this season they’ll adjust the deal in 2027, when he’ll be 28 and entering his seventh season.
For a team that won the top seed in 2025, they’re not standing pat. They’re addressing their weaknesses while retaining their strengths. At a time when plenty of other AFC contenders are in flux, the Broncos could be in position to finish the job in 2026.
In addition to draft compensation, the Dolphins have gained some salary cap relief by trading receiver Jaylen Waddle to the Broncos.
Denver will absorb and pay all of Waddle’s contract for 2026 and beyond, a source with knowledge of the situation confirmed to PFT.
Waddle was set to count $11.6 million against the cap for Miami in 2026 with a $1.215 million base salary and $16.631 million in guarantees.
Waddle is under contract through 2028. He is owed $15.203 million guaranteed in 2027 but has no guaranteed money in 2028.
The Broncos can re-work Waddle’s deal or sign him to an extension to reduce his cap number and keep him with the team going forward.
Waddle, 27, caught 64 passes for 910 yards with six touchdowns for the Dolphins in 2025. He has 373 receptions for 4,039 yards with 26 TDs since Miami selected him at No. 6 overall in 2021.
Jaylen Waddle is heading to Denver.
The Dolphins and Broncos have agreed to a trade that has Waddle, the Dolphins’ No. 1 wide receiver, going to Denver and a first-round pick going to Miami.
The full deal is reportedly Waddle and the Dolphins’ 2026 fourth-round pick for the Broncos’ 2026 first-round pick, as well as third-, and fourth-round picks going from Denver to Miami.
It’s a big move for the Broncos, who are building aggressively around quarterback Bo Nix in the hopes that they can advance even further than they did in 2025, when they were one of the NFL’s biggest regular-season surprises as the No. 1 seed in the AFC. Without Nix, the Broncos lost the AFC Championship Game, but with him they think they’re Super Bowl contenders, and they think Waddle can be a big piece of a championship-caliber team.
The 27-year-old Waddle has spent his entire career with the Dolphins, who selected him with the sixth overall pick in the 2021 NFL draft. He’s a big-time talent, but the Dolphins are rebuilding and have decided to go with cheaper players while stockpiling draft picks.
Now Denver hopes it’s putting the finishing touches on a Super Bowl roster.
On Monday morning, before the Chiefs traded for former Jets quarterback Justin Fields, someone was throwing spaghetti on the question of whether Kansas City was eyeing Russell Wilson as Patrick Mahomes insurance.
With the Chiefs off the board, what’s next for Wilson?
His days as a starting quarterback have ended. The only teams with a current vacancy at the top of the depth chart are the Cardinals and the Steelers. A Pittsburgh reunion is highly unlikely, even if Aaron Rodgers doesn’t return.
The Raiders possibly, maybe would be interested in a short-term bridge, if they aren’t comfortable with putting Fernando Mendoza on the field right away. Wilson may not be inclined to once again be the three-game starter before getting the tap.
Then again, Wilson may not have many choices. Which raises the question of whether he’s willing to take whatever he can get, making him one of the very rare former franchise quarterbacks who’ll accept being No. 2 or No. 3 on a depth chart.
Joe Flacco, who was twice the highest-paid quarterback in the NFL, is and has been willing to do that. Most of the guys who were once at or among the top of the market won’t accept anything other than a gift-wrapped starting job.
It can’t be easy for a guy who has spent so much time as “the guy” to accept becoming “just another guy.” But it happens to any pro football player who stays beyond the shelf life of his high-end skills.
In preparation for his current shot at free agency, Wilson parted ways with his longtime agent, Mark Rodgers, and hired David Mulugheta of Athletes First. During Wilson’s best years, it helped him to have an agent who had one and only one NFL client; the negotiations on Wilson’s contracts were never compromised by the agent’s broader business interests as to other players he represented.
Now, Wilson needs the help of someone who may have the league-wide goodwill to get Wilson a roster spot in exchange for keeping the agent happy as to the looming negotiations with a higher-profile client.
The mere fact that Wilson made the change represents an acknowledgement, conscious or not, that things have changed for him. He still has a high degree of confidence in his skills. Which isn’t surprising. For all NFL players, confidence that borders on delusion is a must.
At some point, however, the basis for the confidence evaporates. By the end of last season, Wilson had slipped behind Jameis Winston on the Giants’ depth chart.
Wilson’s third foray into free agency continues. Two years ago, he took the minimum from the Steelers because the Broncos owed him $39 million. This time around, the minimum salary of $1.3 million may be Wilson’s only option.
And the overriding question will be whether, after earning more than $315 million in his career, he’s willing to commit seven or more months for the smallest payday since signing his slotted four-year, $2.996 million deal as a third-round pick, 14 years ago.
One of Denver’s defensive backs is officially back in the fold.
The Broncos announced on Friday that corner Ja’Quan McMillian has signed his second-round restricted free-agent tender.
McMillian is now set to earn $5.767 million on his one-year deal with the club.
The Broncos and McMillian are still able to negotiate a long-term deal for the time being.
McMillian, 25, appeared in 17 games with three starts for Denver in 2025. He recorded 56 total tackles with five tackles for loss, nine passes defensed, two interceptions, two forced fumbles, and 4.0 sacks.
In his 51 career games with 16 starts, McMillian has tallied six interceptions, 24 passes defensed, and 7.0 sacks.
