PHOENIX — The Broncos were searching for a dynamic player, and they found him in wide receiver Jaylen Waddle.
Less than two weeks after acquiring the talented wide receiver, General Manager George Paton told DenverBroncos.com that the team prioritized adding another offensive playmaker.
"Yeah, just a more explosive element," Paton said at the NFL Annual Meeting. "We were looking for something unique to come up, and that was unique to get a guy like him to fit [and] complement already a really strong group."
In Waddle, who has recorded three 1,000-yard seasons in his first five years, the Broncos added one of the league's top playmakers to an already deep receiving corps.
"You turn on the tape, and he's one of the more explosive players in the NFL, yet he's an elite route runner," Paton said. "Really good after the catch. He's a matchup problem. He can play all over. So, really excited about him."
Paton also cited Waddle's makeup, competitiveness and toughness, and he noted the Broncos believe Waddle "would really fit in our culture."
The Broncos' general manager confirmed to reporters that Denver had interest in Waddle around last season's trade deadline, though he said the Broncos and Dolphins were not "real close" to a deal in the fall. Following the Combine, the Broncos reached out to Miami again to restart the process.
"Obviously, [we] did a lot of work on him," Paton said. "All the coaches did, [the] scouts. We had done a lot of work on him at the trade deadline. We felt like we knew the player well. We knew the person even better. So, we feel really good about the trade."
Paton said the Broncos weighed the free-agent options at wide receiver, as well as the potential options at No. 30 in the 2026 NFL Draft. After evaluating those options and a series from the last decade, Paton and the Broncos felt the value was right to acquire the talented receiver.
"You look at the caliber of the free-agent class," Paton said. "You look at the caliber of the draft class. Who can we get at [No.] 30 within the draft class? Then you factor in the [salary] cap and the finances, not just this year but down the road. The fact that he's 27 years old, the fact that it was [No.] 30 — it wasn't [No.] 16. We compared it to all the other trades the last 10 years with a first-round pick, and the value we felt was [No.] 26. That's the value we gave them. You look into all of that when you make a trade like this."
Paton said the Broncos believe Waddle will add to a receiver room that includes Courtland Sutton, Troy Franklin, Marvin Mims Jr., Pat Bryant, Lil'Jordan Humphrey and Michael Bandy.
"He just helps the room," Paton said. "Opens up the run game, he'll open it up for the other receivers. We think he'll fit in well with the group."
Paton also said the team does not plan to trade a receiver after acquiring Waddle.
"We really like those pieces, and they're all going to help us," Paton said. "They've all helped us up to now — and I'm [talking about] Lil'Jordan and Bandy. We really like [the group]. We're seven, eight [players] deep. We really like it, so why would we build up this room and then trade someone right now?"
The Broncos added the latest piece to the room by adding an undeniably dynamic receiver in Waddle.
"It had to be a unique circumstance for us to do this, to make a trade like this," Paton said. "We just felt this was too unique to pass up."
