With Tyreek Hill out for the Dolphins this past weekend against the Jets, the onus was on Jaylen Waddle to step up to the bell for Miami and fantasy managers alike in Week 16. In the first meeting between the division rivals on Black Friday a few weeks ago, Waddle had a solid performance, putting up eight catches for 114 scoreless yards en route to a WR16 finish on the week. This time around, though, Waddle was able to find the end zone and have his best performance of the 2023 season sans Cheetah.
Despite playing against one of the league’s foremost pass defenses in the Jets’ secondary, Waddle exploded on Sunday with 142 yards and a touchdown on eight catches, comfortably leading all Dolphins pass catchers on the afternoon in target share (35%). But what was most indicative of the Waddle’s domination of the Dolphins wide receiver room was the air yards share he racked up in doing so (85%), easily his highest total air yards share on the season.
At the same time, no other Dolphins receiver caught more than two passes on the day against the Jets, with Waddle being the only fantasy-relevant receiver for Miami in Week 15. And almost coincidentally, Waddle’s next best game this season behind his Week 15 performance in terms of target share and air yards share was also against the Jets in Week 12, when he earned a 29% target share and 53% air yards share. While Waddle is unlikely to enjoy the same success he had this past weekend with Tyreek Hill back in the lineup moving forward, fantasy managers were treated to a great opening weekend of the fantasy playoffs.