The Miami Dolphins didn’t have their best seaons in 2024. Injuries, bad chemistry, presumed lackluster culture, and underwhelming performances were not what they hoped for. However, it’s a new day and a new dawn as the 2025 season awaits. The NFL is not a waiting business so Tua Tagovailoa and company know they need to step up, especially one of the quarterback’s key weapon.
That is Jaylen Waddle. The former Alabama product is entering his fifth year in the NFL and he has been productive for the most part. His first three seasons he surpassed the 1,000-yard mark despite not being the first option on Tua’s radar.
Waddle spoke about his 2024 season, stating it was “definitely the year that I didn’t want as an individual.” Waddle kept on saying to Marcel Louis-Jacques from ESPN, “After watching the film, definitely a lot of hand eye [coordination] — I feel like I’m trying to move without the ball too much, and just the simple things, just timing, getting smoother in and out of my routes. Pretty much that.”
Waddle could turn into a monster
Waddle’s 2024 was the first season where he couldn’t reach the 1,000-yard treshold, but he wasn’t even close. He ended with 744 yards, 2 touchdowns and only 58 receptions. All career-lows for Waddle.
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS – NOVEMBER 06: Jaylen Waddle #17 of the Miami Dolphins warms up prior to the game against the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field on November 06, 2022 in Chicago, Illinois.
Waddle has been a reliable weapon and last season it was a down year for the whole team, not for Waddle only. However, the team itself has plenty of the guys on a hot seat. Miami will probably make or break this season.
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Tua Tagovailoa teammate ready to step up as Dolphins leader ahead of 2025 NFL season
Mike McDaniel is included in the hot seat list
McDaniel arrived in Miami as a prodigal coach with a mind so gifted that the offense would be unstoppable with him calling the plays and Tua executing them. At times, it has been. At others, not so much, but McDaniel’s biggest debt is to become a full head coach. Being a head coach is not only calling plays, it’s managing a 53-man roster. McDaniel is not precisely great at doing so, or that’s what it seems.
Plenty of players have stated that the team’s culture is not great. That falls on the head coach. McDaniel must bring results, but especially galvanize the troops to commit to the team’s mission. If he can’t do that, his job might be in absolute jeopardy.
