Sean Payton and George Paton made a blockbuster trade, and recently they both explained why the Denver Broncos traded for Jaylen Waddle.

Waddle’s a playmaker, a star, and he’ll revolutionize Denver’s offense.

Plus, he’s better than what the team could’ve drafted at No. 30 overall.

Why the Denver Broncos traded for Jaylen Waddle

Waddle immediately becomes the Broncos No. 1 receiver ahead of Courtland Sutton, or at least, 1a to Sutton as 1b.

He’s incredibly fast, has great hands, and knows how to produce yards after the catch. Plus, Waddle is a great receiver over the middle of the field, which has been a weakness for Bo Nix and the Broncos offense as of late.

We know he can bring all of that to Denver’s offense in 2026 and beyond. But, wasn’t a first-round pick too much to give up for a veteran receiver?

“You look at the caliber of the free-agent class,” George Paton said at the NFL league meetings. “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.”

Sean Payton had a similar answer.

“We spent a lot of time looking at that selection and trying to determine [who would be an option],” Head Coach Sean Payton said Tuesday at the NFL Annual Meeting. “We could safely say that pick would’ve been one of these seven or eight players. We didn’t feel like that [pick] would help us as much as Jaylen Waddle.”

Remember the Broncos explored a deal for Waddle back at the trade deadline, and the Dolphins reportedly still wanted a first-round pick, then, too. But Denver didn’t know where in the first round their pick would land. After losing in the AFC Championship Game, it was clear that No. 30 pick was worth it for Waddle.

What did Denver’s decision-makers like from Waddle?

Both Payton and Payton liked how Waddle fits with the Broncos; he’s versatile, dynamic, and explosive.

“He’s played everywhere,” Payton explained. “I’ve seen him outside as a tremendous route runner, inside. The route tree is pretty expansive. I’d say—I just said it. The best thing that I think he does is he’s explosive; he’s dynamic. A lot of times, the guys run fast, but I think he sends his hips in transition. I think you’ll see him play inside in the slot; you’ll see him outside. We’ll have speed packages that will feature… We’re not just going to have, and I know someone’s getting ready to ask me, ‘Is he receiver [No.] 1 or 2?’ So we don’t have [that]. We just play different packages and try to give those guys the things that they do well.”

You can hear Payton basically salivating when thinking about how he’s going to use the veteran playmaker in the Broncos offense.

“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.”

George Paton makes a great point here.

Not only will Waddle help open things up for other receivers—from Sutton to Marvin Mims and Troy Franklin—but he’ll help open up the team’s run game as well. Denver was a decently well-balanced offense for the first half of the season until J.K. Dobbins went down with an injury in Week 10. The Broncos brought Dobbins back and are hoping he stays fully healthy this season.

It will be interesting to see how improved Denver’s offense is in 2026. Not only from Waddle’s playmaking abilities, but how much more open guys like Sutton and Co. can get, and even how much that affects the run game.

If the Broncos defense can stay elite—and that seems likely—they’ll find help from a new and improved offense as well.

Denver will find themselves back in the postseason for a third straight year