Film Room: Inside the Broncos’ Plan to Unleash Jaylen Waddle

In Week 1's debacle in Kansas City, the Denver Broncos couldn’t find a way to unlock wide receiver Jaylen Waddle in the passing game.

Despite the Broncos using Waddle to pull defenders upfield to open up tight end Evan Engram for their only touchdown of the game, the new wideout was missing for most of the game.

Fast forward to Week 2, and Waddle was definitively the offensive player of the game.

Waddle had a massive game against the Jacksonville Jaguars, finishing with eight receptions for 138 yards. The Broncos used him in a plethora of different ways, starting things off with a couple of screens to get his presence felt before morphing his role into a multi-level threat across the formation.

Waddle was used in the quick game, taking shots downfield, and even as a decoy on a double reverse to Pat Bryant that went for a nice gain. This was his “welcome to Denver” moment, and the party started in the second quarter.

We've already examined the film on rookie running back Jonah Coleman. Now it's time to see how Waddle's breakout game looked.

Second Quarter | 10:04 | Taking the Top Off

Welcome to Denver, Jaylen Waddle. pic.twitter.com/zGNZlFJwr3
— Lance Sanderson (@LanceS_MHH) September 21, 2026

After Jacksonville opened the scoring with a touchdown on the previous possession, the Broncos answered back with a deep shot to Waddle, who made a fantastic contested catch to set the offense up at the 1-yard line.

Denver motions Courtland Sutton to pair with Waddle on the left side of the formation, helping to identify the Jaguars' defense in a two-deep zone coverage. This is a variation of “Dagger”, where the receiver on the inside of the concept runs a post route, while the receiver on the outside runs a deep Dig route. Jacksonville is playing Cover 4 here, and “Dagger” is a perfect concept to beat it.

Sutton sits his route down and stops in the void, drawing the deep safety down into the middle of the field and opening up the shot play for Waddle, who gets a free release and wins to the inside. On the other side of the field, Pat Bryant draws the safety on his side of the field with his hitch route, and it’s over from there.

Bo Nix, who is on a designed roll to his right, gets pressure up the middle and is forced to throw on the run. This is a tremendous throw and an even better catch. Unfortunately, Denver’s offense would stall on the goal line and come away with just three points.

Second Quarter | 4:43 | Middle-of-the-Field Weapon

You can't play that far off of Waddle in man coverage. pic.twitter.com/rwdX4e7wDH
— Lance Sanderson (@LanceS_MHH) September 21, 2026

Later in the second quarter, the Broncos stack Waddle behind Bryant on the left side of the formation. They get man coverage across the board, and call up a switch release with Waddle running a crossing route.

Jaguars cornerback Jarrian Jones, who is lined up eight yards off the ball, stands no chance of catching up on this play. When Waddle gets a free release to the middle of the field, he usually gets the ball and turns it into a huge gain. That’s exactly what happens.

One thing to note here: watch Waddle’s route pacing on this play. He doesn’t accelerate to top speed until he starts his break to flatten across the field, opening up even more separation than naturally given to him based on the formation and the defender’s alignment.

That route-running nuance could boost Nix’s confidence when targeting the middle of the field more often.

Fourth Quarter | 13:52 | Growing Trust Inside

You can see Bo Nix starting to trust Waddle as a MOF threat. This is a dart right as he comes out of his break to beat the LB dropping into the zone. pic.twitter.com/4TRjI8ihBN
— Lance Sanderson (@LanceS_MHH) September 21, 2026

Speaking of confidence when targeting the middle of the field, this next play is a great example of timing, anticipation, and trust in your receiver.

After a Riley Moss interception in the third quarter, the Broncos are driving to tie the game at 13. This is a critical 3rd-and-7 play, and Waddle puts on a route-running clinic over the middle of the field.

Denver uses a short motion to get Waddle in the slot and help identify the coverage. Jacksonville is showing a pressure look with linebacker Branson Combs and safety Antonio Johnson standing on the line of scrimmage. At the snap, Combs bails back into the hook zone of the Jaguars’ Cover 3 defense, but it's already too late.

Waddle gets a free release and runs a 12-yard in-breaking pattern over the middle of the field, getting depth faster than Combs can backpedal. Nix, knowing he has pressure coming, hits his back foot and fires a dart into the open area, knowing Waddle will get there to make the catch.

Fourth Quarter | 3:41 | Back to the Well

This is an awesome adjustment by Waddle and Webb. Jourdan Lewis got away with holding in the 1st QTR.

So they added a stutter-and-go in the 4th QTR and hit him for 30 on 3rd down. Same design. Same coverage. pic.twitter.com/YiwpjidvxB
— Lance Sanderson (@LanceS_MHH) September 21, 2026

On our last play, we’re going to look at two plays at opposite ends of the game. These are incredibly similar designs with the same coverage ending in different results.

In the first quarter, the Broncos motion Waddle across the formation with Jaguars cornerback Jourdan Lewis mirroring him in man coverage. Waddle runs by Lewis on a go route up the sideline, forcing Lewis to grab his jersey to slow him down. This should have been called for defensive pass interference, but it didn’t draw a flag.

Late in the game, while the Broncos are operating a textbook four-minute drill, they go back to the well and hit an explosive play to keep the drive alive.

Watch as Waddle adds a stutter-and-go on his route, getting Lewis to fall down as he grasps for air. That’s an incredible in-game adjustment to identify the matchup and target Lewis downfield again, with the double-move wrinkle added in.

This play could have been a touchdown, but it doesn’t matter. Sure, Nix under throws this football as he is rolling to his right. However, ensuring that you get the completion, extend the drive, and keep the clock rolling is far more important in this situation.

Scoring a game-sealing touchdown would have been great, but if that pass falls incomplete, the Broncos would have had to punt the football back to Jacksonville with about three minutes left and an opportunity to tie the game.

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