It took just three plays of game action before Jaylen Waddle’s effect on Bo Nix showed up.
In the Broncos’ second preseason game, Waddle ran a deep route over the middle and easily separated from Green Bay Packers All-Pro safety Xavier McKinney. Nix dropped back to his own 30-yard line and fired a 32-yard strike between the numbers to the Packers’ 38. Waddle scampered for another 13 yards before getting up and flexing.
Yes, it was just the preseason, but the play was emblematic of the effect Waddle could have on elevating Nix’s game in 2026.
When the Broncos traded for Waddle, they added 373 receptions, 5,039 receiving yards and 26 touchdowns of proven production. But talk to other Broncos offensive players, and they think Waddle’s impact on Denver’s offense will extend beyond his own numbers. It could start by helping Nix unlock a part of the field that has been giving him trouble.
Waddle caught 22 passes over the middle of the field last year that traveled more than 10 yards in the air, according to The Denver Post’s charting. He turned eight of those catches into gains of 20 or more yards, including a 43-yard touchdown against the Atlanta Falcons where he zipped past the defense on an in-breaking route over the middle of the field.
Meanwhile, Nix completed just 29 of those same passes last season. Eleven of them went for more than 20 yards.
Throwing over the middle has been a weakness for Nix since he entered the NFL. On throws between 10-19 yards last season, he completed just 48.6% of his passes, a 5% lower completion percentage than expected, according to . He averaged just 7.9 yards per attempt on those passes, according to, and threw six interceptions in that area of the field. On intermediate throws over the middle of the field, he went 19-for-33 with a 62.8 passer rating and three interceptions, according to .
When Nix throws the ball deep, he usually throws toward the sideline. On throws of more than 10 yards throughout his career, Nix has attempted 224 passes outside the numbers and just 126 attempts inside the numbers, according to PFF.
The best quarterbacks in the league tend to be elite at throwing over the middle of the field. Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson, Patrick Mahomes and Joe Burrow — the top four quarterbacks in the AFC — all had 100+ passer ratings when targeting the deep middle of the field, according to PFF.
So how can the Broncos help elevate Nix’s game? Enter Waddle.
“He’s really, really good. He’s going to play everything but O-line, so he’ll move around,” offensive coordinator Davis Webb said about Waddle.
The wideout is particularly elite over the middle of the field: 40% of his receiving yards in 2025 came in the intermediate-center area of the field, per PFF. None of the Broncos’ wideouts crossed the 15% threshold. His expected points added on those completions were +31.4, behind only Puka Nacua, Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Ja’Marr Chase, George Pickens and Nico Collins. Waddle caught 20 passes for 368 yards on intermediate throws over the middle last season, according to PFF. He finished with a whopping 7.36 yards per route run on those plays.
Waddle created 2.5 yards of separation on those routes, which should help Nix feel comfortable targeting him. Backup quarterback Jarrett Stidham told The Denver Post that Waddle is “really savvy” in his route running, but also has “unteachable speed.”
Miami’s offense ran more in-breaking routes than Payton’s does, but every NFL offense wants to be efficient over the middle of the field. Not only is Waddle productive in that area but he’s also explosive. The wideout’s can turn any simple dig route into a touchdown. He can also free up other receivers in the Broncos’ offense by the threat of his speed alone.
“I think it’s going to help our offense out a lot. You have to account for him every time he’s on the field. Honestly, sometimes that doesn’t even matter with his talent,” tight end Evan Engram said.
That could particularly matter in Week 1. Opposing offenses enjoyed some success in the intermediate area of the field against the Kansas City Chiefs last season. On passes between 10-19 yards in the air, Kansas City surrendered a +0.42 expected points added per attempt, according to , while holding offenses to a negative expected points added on checkdowns, passes under 10 yards and straight drop back passes. In defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo’s blitz-heavy scheme, offenses can exploit the middle of the field. The Chiefs ended last season with the allowed per target at 3.7 yards.
“(Spagnuolo) will pressure you at different moments. He’ll lull you to sleep, then bring pressure. He likes to get you to third down, third and long, so he can bring something else exotic,” Nix said. “Last year, we saw a couple different game plans. The first time he attacked us, the second time he showed a little bit more cover 2 and quarters.”
In short, while Kansas City’s zone defense is staunch, there are areas of the field opposing passing teams can attack — particularly in the intermediate middle of the field. Nix had some success attacking the Chiefs in that area. He’s thrown just 21 intermediate passes against Kansas City in his career, completing 11 of them. Those throws have produced an average EPA of +4.1, according to Next Gen Stats.
With Waddle in the fold now, the Broncos’ offense should be even harder to defend. Defensive coordinator Vance Joseph, who has had to face the wideout all offseason, said the most difficult part of guarding him is his explosiveness across the route tree.
“If he catches a short pass, he never loses speed. And that’s a problem, because he can catch a slant and go 60 (yards). He can also run a (vertical route) past you,” Joseph said. “Those guys are the most dangerous in the league.”
