Dolphins TRADE WR Jaylen Waddle To Denver — NOW THAT'S WHAT I CALL EMERGENCY PODCAST EP. III

It's the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every day.

Hey everyone, this is Ross Jackson, one of the hosts of the Lockdown Podcast Network.

Thank you for being here because your support means everything.

And if you're looking for another way to support the show that you love, while getting

something awesome in return, check out the Every Day or Club.

You get ad free episodes of your favorite Lockdown show, access to a member's only group

chat for fans of your team, and you can even jump into the national chats and talk about

whatever's happening across the league.

Tap the Every Day or Club link in the show notes to learn more.

Goodbye Penguin.

You are Lockdown Dolphins, your daily Miami Dolphins podcast, part of the Lockdown Podcast

Network.

Your team every day.

All right, Miami, welcome to another emergency podcast episode of Lockdown Dolphins.

I'm your host, Kyle Kraves, the lifelong Miami Dolphins fan, host of Lockdown Dolphins,

co-host of Lockdown.

I'm the fellow scouting author of Touchdown Miami on Sub-Stack at a Bell Staff Ride

Afraid as he sports.

Want to give a special welcome a shout out to our every dayers, as it is your team every

day, sometimes twice a day, like when you trade Jay LaWanneau to the Denver Broncos

for a one of three and four shout out to everybody who made Lockdown Podcast, now we're

the number one sports podcast network in the world and I am in my feelings about this

one.

But I get it.

I do get it.

You look at the trade compensation, the news broke out an hour ago, Dolphins trading Jay

LaWanneau with their fourth round pick at 111 to the Denver Broncos, who was one of the

teams that was really to be interested in Jay LaWanneau with Trade Deadline last year

and it didn't happen for picks 30, 94 and 130.

So a couple of different isms that I like to use on the show.

One of them, this chialism is the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few.

And when you look at what this draft capital now looks like, 11, 30, 43, 75, 87, 90, 94,

130, 151, right?

The Dolphins last year felt like, wow, what a refreshing change of pace.

The Dolphins made a first and a second round pick and they had three picks in the top

100 when it started.

They only made two of them.

Remember last year, they drafted Jonas of I and I and we needed to wait like 100 picks

for the third choice and it was Jordan Phillips and like the one 40s and that was the third

draft choice that they made in last year's class.

Before the Dolphins made their fourth pick in last year's class, they're going to pick

at 11, 30, 43, I'm doing math in real time and I can count on my fingers on my toes

on this one.

75, 87, 90, 94, 7 picks in the top 100 and then 131, 51.

And if I'm John Eric Sullivan and I've got this keeping pile of picks now at my disposal,

you know what I'm doing, I'm probably going to try to keep moving and shaking with them.

You're not trying to just build a chest for this year.

Now it's going to be hard to build a chest for next year because everybody knows how good

that class is supposed to be.

But darn it, man, you got two first round picks, you got to pick at 43, you got four picks

between 75 and 94, 130.

This roster is going to look dramatically different and when they said they were going to build

through the draft, we know John Eric Sullivan wasn't giving us lip service.

There's a whole bunch of questions that come with a move like this as far as why sign

Maliquilis.

If this is what you were going to do as far as what's the salary cap implications, I still

have to sort a lot of that out and I'm not going to say here and talk on my rear end

of you guys about, right?

This focus is on the compensation with the draft picks all they did, DJ Morgan's traded

for a two and I think that that trade kind of really underscored where Jalen Wato

who's a younger player and from an EPA per target standpoint is significantly more productive

than DJ Morgan the last two years.

Wato was do $17 million in cash compensation, not salary cap charges, cash compensation

this year and it was $24 million next year in cash compensation, right?

So there's been a couple different kinds of reporting on who's paying what money, the

money's really secondary.

If the dolphins are going to bust on this trade and they lose $11 million in cap space

to do it, what they'll do is they'll probably do a base salary conversion for Aaron Brewer

and they'll do a base salary conversion for Jordan Brooks and that buys you about $9 million

in cap space and that probably offsets the total of it and then you could just kind of keep

on, take it until the post June 1st money comes through with Bradley Chuck.

The wide receiver room is tough on the ice, but what stands out to me and I haven't really

done a lot of like draft specific deep dive stuff here on lockdown yet because obviously

we had to build up with a new regime and new coaches and then the combine happened and

then the Malik Willis signing happens.

So like we haven't really had time to get into it yet, but one thing that's when I look

at how I have the wide receivers graded in this year's class, this is the first kind

of under the hood draft talking point that we're going to get to here on the show.

But I've done the top 12 guys I finalized grades on at wide receiver.

For me, there's a stand alone player that has some questions with medical in Jordan

Tyson.

I think his 24 tape is the best tape of any wide receiver in the class.

But then I've got a very close collection of players named Carl Tate, Makai Lemon.

I think Omar Cooper from Indiana is like a marginal notch down from that and he's in

the same bucket with guys like Casey, Concepcion from Texas A&M and Denzel Boston.

And that's even before like a lot of my mocks.

I was doing day two wide receivers like in the third round with like Malik Fields and

with Ted Hearst from Georgia State.

So Antonio Williams from Clemsons, kind of a really intriguing slot type guy for me.

This is a great wide receiver class.

It's not strong in a lot of places.

But between picks 11 and 43, you're going to have three bites of the Apple now.

Probably won't want them to be a wide receiver based on moving on from Jalen Waddle and what

the domino effect is for what the rest of the roster now looks like for the dolphins with

two two at well, Jalen Tolbert, Malik Washington, Theo Weiss, Taj Washington, Tarris Marshall

Jr.

Another not giving us lip service, but living the words in which they told us and how

they were going to move and operate.

John Arxelvin told the local media for the on the record meeting that they had at the

Combine.

We're not going to have a wide receiver with a bunch of five nine guys.

And that's no shade like I think Jalen Waddle.

I know he's become oddly a polarizing player and I can't wait for if he stays to the best

of his ability this year in Denver for all the that wow that's so dolphins when he puts

up like 1,300 or 1,200 yards in Denver with Sean Payton and he's always been this

talented, right?

And I think it's unfortunate he had to play second fiddle for the vast majority of his

dolphins career to Tyree Kill and then this year like you get unequivocally the worst

version of Tua that you could possibly get is what Waddle ended up getting his wide receiver

one opportunities with.

But if you're looking at the long term scope of the team building process, I can't look

at the trade package and compensation and say, I can't justify them doing this.

I can't and I remember having the conversation to trade down I said a one plus but like

one in a one in another top 100 pick and that's why you don't do the deal at the trade

deadline.

We'll talk about that more on the other side of the break.

Make sure you guys stick with us.

Overplace chaos.

Here we are.

Deadline stacking up inbox is overflowing in the one position you have to fill is sitting

open when the pressure's on and you need the right hire to job for indeed sponsor jobs

indeed sponsor jobs helps you reach the people who actually fit what you're looking for skills

experience locations.

So you're not just sitting around hoping the right candidate falls into your lap.

Here's a staff that says it all in the minute that I have been talking to you companies

like yours have made 27 hires on indeed and according to indeed data worldwide.

So if you're hiring spend less time searching more time interviewing candidates to check

all your boxes with indeed sponsor jobs listeners of our program gets $75 sponsor job credit

to get your job the premium status it deserves at indeed.com slash podcast.

Just go to indeed.com slash podcast right now shows support for our program by saying

you heard about indeed on the show indeed.com slash podcast terms and conditions to apply

if you need to hire it's a job for indeed sponsor jobs.

If you need some folks to talk to as well.

I do want to extend the invitation for you guys to join our every day or club on the

lockdown network.

You can use promo code March get your first month free.

If you sign up before the NCAA tournament tips on phone Thursday you can compete against

everyone in the men's and women's brackets the winner gets $100 and locked on March.

And as a member of the club you get an ad free version of this program as well plus

access to the NF locked on NFL community discord.

It's for free for a month with the code March and the join link is in the show description.

So the Jalen Waddle thing happening at the deadline versus the Jalen Phillips thing that

did happen at the deadline right I think this is something that as a reflect on how they

handled the deadline and it was kind of controversial at the time of why would you trade Jalen

Phillips and not give your new executive the choice to make that decision because he

was an expiring contract right and this why don't make the decision with Devon H and

with an interim GM and a head coach that's trying to win and save his job.

This is why you don't make the decision with Jalen Waddle despite whatever offers were

reportedly out there and reportedly the best offer they got from the bills that included

the 2027 one is compared to one this year.

So I think especially with the team being Buffalo is was reported you're darn right I'm

going to charge you a surcharge three X more than one anybody else is if I'm going to

give you Waddle on a two year lease before I see my compensation back and make you better

so the pick is worse.

You make the decision with Jalen Phillips that you make it the trade deadline because he's

an expiring contract and because you're not going to use the franchise tag because your

team financials aren't in a position to use the franchise tag.

You don't trade Jalen Waddle and you don't trade Devon H and we'll see what happens with

Devon H and right no holds bar at this point there's no there's no cap penalty like you're

presumably incurring with Jalen Waddle trade is this could just be a matter of

do we get the offer that's too good to be true and man you just put the for sale sign

right out the front yard.

Miami Gardens you go dry by our rock stadium right now there is a for sale sign or out

in front of at the cell.

That's the message that's sent when you trade a player like Jalen Waddle to leave the

wide receiver room in the position that it's in.

But the reason why you don't make those trades at the deadline is because those players

had 2026 under control so you can hire a new executive and let them get to the offseason

and then figure out if they get an offer that they actually want to take or if they want

to keep the player.

So about the Malik Willis signing.

I keep going back to again because this is several promises made promises delivered by

John Ricks.

He told us how he's going to operate.

He said for a team building philosophy standpoint it all starts with the quarterback

right now I move like this I think dramatically hurts your opportunity to compete and over

achieve at a high level but I do look at the composition of the Packers wide receiver

room and of course they they used their first round pick this year on Matthew Golden and

that was like a big deal because I think the last time the Packers had used a first round

pick on a wide receiver it was like 20 years since the last time they had used a first round

pick so let me pull up the draft history.

They went quarterback offensive lineman and defensive players and that was like their

big time track record.

Now you can go back to 2008 and they draft Jordy Nelson with their first pick at 36.

You can go back to 2006 and they drafted Greg Jennings 52nd overall.

You have to go back to Javon Walker in 2002 was the last time the Packers used a first

round pick on a wide receiver.

But then they used one on Matthew Golden this year and Golden was quiet but the composition

of the wide receiver room in Rune Bay Christian Watson with a two.

Jaden Reed with a two.

Savion Williams with a three.

Don Tavion Wicks was with a five Romeo dobs was drafted with a was a third round pick.

He's no longer on the Arlads chart.

Fourth round pick but they used a lot of it in in rapid succession right is that they

built this very young dynamic size and athleticism and body type versatile room so as you process

a trade like moving on from J. L. Waddle with a trade package that I readily acknowledge

is one of the drivers of the J. L. Waddle fan club.

I would did not want to trade J. L. Waddle but I look at that package and compensation

and if that's the track record that you're going to have with drafting as I mean we just

did Jordy Nelson and Greg Jennings a second round picks Romeo dobs was a fourth Christian

Watson as a two Jaden Reed is a two Jaden reads a great player.

They kind of have the track record right and they're not going to bat a thousand and I

think it's important for us to kind of calibrate those expectations and not expect them to

bat a thousand.

But that's what makes the volume piece of it so important to have 11 30 43 75 87 90 94

and top of her.

And shoot you get to 11 overall you if you have the wrong player staring at the face

that price they'll be trying to trade out price still trying to trade out.

But you're going to have an opportunity to add some water series this room and for adding

Malik Willis I know that that's the number one question is why would you add Malik Willis

if you're simultaneously going to make this move with J. L. Waddle.

You're playing a long term game and they are comfortable with the idea of potential

sunk cost to quarterback.

One of it matters until you get the quarterback and if Malik Willis is the player that they

think that he is.

I'll get some young guys in there.

They'll have Malik Washington.

One of these other guys whether it's Jalen Tolbert or Tutu at well.

Somebody's going to come around and they'll probably add a tight end as well.

A very young team expect a lot of growing pains.

This is a reality situation.

But these clues were getting dropped.

It was in Rappaport one of the programs in January was talking about the end of December

beginning of January was talking about kind of the landscape of the AFC East where you've

got the jets with the sun, the moon and the stars with all the draft picks because they

shredded their entire roster to bits and then two competitive teams in the Patriots and

Buffalo Bills.

And he said that they might have to get a little creative to find a way to close the gap

with assets to kind of build a new team as they offload what is going to be a historic

cap charge now for the dolphins.

When you consider they had $90 million in dead cap coming into today and then trade Jalen

Waddle for presumably $28 million dead cap charge.

So they lose $12 million in cap space per what the most recent reporting was.

And then they're going to have $54 million in dead cap when Tutu at Tonga Veloah comes

off the books plus another $10 million in dead cap for Bradley Chum.

They are going to have $174 million in dead cap on a $301 million cap.

Now I'm not a math guy but I do have my calculator here, 174 divided by 301 that's 58% of their salary

cap this year is dead money.

You want to talk about flushing the system and it was always about 200 million that they

were going to have to offload in some way shape or form between this year and next year

with mature contracts like Hill and moving off of Tutu and Bradley Chum and James Daniels

and what was left over from Jalen Ramsey when they moved on from him last summer.

It was always kind of going to be ugly.

And kudos to them for getting what they got on the front end of it.

Now you got to hit your picks that's all this boils down to.

If you don't hit your picks this is going to be a mean ugly nasty year and it might

be anyway even if you do hit on the picks but at least you got assets to work with.

I don't love trading Jalen Waddle.

Use probably my favorite player on the team but I said on the squad show yesterday I'm

not in the business of getting married to individual players and I'm not a Jalen Waddle

I am a Jalen Waddle fan but I'm a dolphins fan first and foremost and the operation of

the team if you're going to be congruent on what you say you do and how you move I appreciate

the fact that they held out they got a deluxe price for a wide receiver they moved on

from as a part of the process to diversify the skill set in the wide receiver room and

they're going to build through the draft and they're clearing the books in a dramatic

fashion.

I don't know what the on field product is going to look like.

Got a few more thoughts bring us home let me start the break make sure you guys stick with us.

What the sports were traded like markets now you can put your sports IQ to work in real time

with Robin Hood prediction markets it's not you against the house it's you participating in

a live market you can buy or sell your positions live all game long use your sports knowledge

in the moments that matter you can buy or sell your positions live all game long and you know

with their prediction markets change the game it's people that move the action so when momentum

shifts you can move with it I always knew the game but never had that dynamic way to apply all

that knowledge but now I can actually take part live in a market powered by people you're no longer

just a spectator play by play you decide trade every play with Robin Hood now available across

the US download the Robin Hood app now to begin futures includes swaps trading involve significant

risk and is not appropriate for everyone event contracts are offered by Robin Hood derivatives

LLC a registered futures commission merchant and swap firm

shout out everybody on the youtube channel if you're listening to the podcast feed it's great to

have you guys back after we had some feed issues with a couple of the shows on lockdown last week but

about 800 of you guys can currently in here live on the youtube channel on a Tuesday at lunch

shout out to you guys I do thoroughly enjoy the community that we have built here on

lockdown super cool to have moments like this that happen and be able to kind of hop on and

and digest them together right so if you're a podcast listener and give some consideration

to youtube channel and subscribe and that way you can join us next time when we party in the life

as far as we went through some of the wider seavers that are available in this year's class

I think my favorite bit when you try to triangulate and take coordinates of

where they're probably projected to get drafted what their skill set is I really like Omar Cooper

from Indiana he's like not really in the conversation for the top 15 which is where the dolphins

were picking like that's kind of the carnival tape Jordan Tyson McIleman's stratosphere the draft

for wider seavers this year man if Omar Cooper makes it to you at pick 30 I would really really like

that fit for the dolphins he six split 200 pounds the Todd McShay comp is bigger Jarvis Landry

and he ran pretty fast I think it would he ran a 44

you sure you get the exact numbers right yeah he ran he ran a 442 right and that was the

thing about juice and that's why juice was there in the second round was because he ran like 47 at his

pro day Omar Cooper ran 442 at six foot 200 pounds you want to know what he's about you go watch

the game winning touchdown catch against Penn State the body control the toe tap ability that's

kind of like Jalen Tolbert has that same ability in him to get the feet down but I think when I

look at what Malik Willis's skill set brings to the table you're no longer looking at a precision

timing 2.25 second passing attack right there's some of that there's quick game that exists

with the Packers offense that Malik is operating but the rapid separation element that was so much

necessary after watching the hot mess express that the early two dolphins offenses were with

Davante Parker and Preston Williams and trying to fit to it into that mold with guys that didn't

really separate if you have a guy that can create a little bit the initial separation element

to the offense and of the wide receiver position does kind of I don't say takes a back seat because

guys who get open and catch the football are the number two the top two most important things

a wide receiver can do but I do reflect on how important it was with a timing based offense as

compared to a guy that can get outside the pocket a guy that can create some things and now like

that some of that peripheral vision football IQ and feel and feel for space and adjustments body

adjustments and catch rate like those things can give you a little bit more kick back with a guy

who can create outside a structure and I'll say this you know not just two of but when two

did get outside the pocket that offense last year was horrible with guys moving and working

the space you get to they I don't think they worked on it a single day in practice just watching

two it gets outside the pocket and guys kind of guys on the backside stop and guys that are down

field just keep going like two has got the club in the bag to get it down there in the first place

he was rough watching on film and that when you got outside a structure and that was not just

a two a thing that was an everybody thing so I think that element of the offense is going to have

to cover for some of the drop off in what Tyree Kill and Jalen Waddle were as separators

I gotta digest this a little bit more I got on I gave you guys my this is my Jordan flu game moment

because I'm physically ill because of how much I love Waddle as a player but I get it I do

but I'm gonna go process this do some more content I was just getting ready help to head out

the door to the gym so I appreciate them for not waiting until I got outdoor and was in the car

and halfway to the gym before the news drop that was cool so we could circle the wagons and talk

about that's gonna do it for me here on today's episode emergency podcast episode of Lockdown

Dolphins I appreciate each and every one of you who stopped by those of you who are tuning in

after the fact is you wanted to rebuild you got to rebuild gang we are officially in

tear down rebuild from the studs mode we're there now you know we we got a couple cornerstone

players to work with but by and large blank slate and it's up to solid to build it

I'm out here keep it locked in here lock them Dolphins your team every day

you