Fantasy Football Impact: Jaylen Waddle Listed Questionable for Week 3 TNF vs Bills
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Week 3 will kickoff tomorrow night as the Miami Dolphins travel to Buffalo take take on a surging Bills team. The Dolphins are 0-2, and stuck in a lot of negativity regarding the teams future. Tyreek Hill may be on the trade block. Mike McDaniel may get fired. Meanwhile, Tua collects a monstrous salary. This team needs a full-strength offense to have a hope in a Week 3 upset. With Jaylen Waddle listed as questionable (shoulder), this will be a key injury to watch for over the next 24 hours.
Fantasy Football Impact
If Jaylen Waddle misses Thursday Night Football, it has massive fantasy implications. Jaylen Waddle has so far played 80% of offensive snaps, and 83% of passing plays. He has caught 82% of the passes sent his way which amounts to 9 Catches for 98 Yards and Touchdown. He is clearly a fantastic receiver, when healthy, and a key piece to the abstract offensive run by Mike McDaniel.
With Waddle out, his 24% target share will be divvied up between the other options on this team. Hill has a 29% target share, and De'Von Achane has a whopping 31% target share. As the best player makers on this team, they will receive a bump in value.
Another dark horse to keep an eye on will be Nick Westbrook-Ikhine. The nine touchdown achiever in 2024 signed as a free agent with this team, and can have his first game as a starter tomorrow night. Why? Not only could Waddle be out, but Malik Washington is also banged up. His full status is listed in the next section.
I would still not start Westbrook-Ikhine in fantasy, but he is a viable, cheap DFS option. Stay tuned for tomorrow's DFS lineups.
Jaylen Waddle Injury Status
You never love to see a player questionable when playing on a short week. Thursday Night Football can be the grim reaper. We saw this last week with the injuries of Jayden Reed and Austin Ekeler. Medical opinion appears to favor Waddle to play on Thursday, but I would rather wait until official word comes out. Playing hurt on a short week is a massive risk and, whether 0-2 or not, I am not sure that risk should be taken.
#Dolphins Jaylen Waddle - "Q" w/shoulder. Likely same AC sprain from Wk 1. 82% snap share Wk 2, no obvious setback. Suspect continued improvement, minimal dip#Vikings Aaron Jones - IR (at least 4 games). High re-injury risk upon return for RB > age 30
— Deepak Chona, MD. SMA (@SportMDAnalysis) September 17, 2025
4/9
In the case that Jaylen Waddle does play, be weary of injury risk mid-game, and potential snap-management by the team. Healthy or not, I expect Westbrook-Ikhine to see more playing time. Stock is up on Achane and Hill regardless of Waddle's game status.
As for Malik Washington, he had been dealing with a minor thumb issue, but is a full-go tomorrow night. Washington is the 3rd starting receiver on the Dolphins, but he has failed to produce much in that role. On 7 Targes (15.6% Target Share), he has only caught 3 of those balls for 22 Yards. Another reason that Westbrook-Ikhine could end up seeing increased work, injuries or not.
Fantasy Sports On SI Week 3 Dolphins Projections (PPR)
Tua Tagovailoa: QB27
De'Von Achane: RB3
Tyreek Hill: WR12
Jaylen Waddle: WR44
Nick Westbrook-Ikhine: WR77
Malik Washington: WR93
Thomas Carelli is a sportswriter based on Northern New Jersey. He is a massive New York Jets and Mets fan, but that is not where is sports fandom stops. He loves to watch and play golf, all things football, baseball, and much more. If he can watch it, he will. Thomas graduated from William Paterson University in 2018 with a Bachelor's Degree in Sport Management. He spent 4 years working at a local golf course, volunteered past PGA events, and spent some part-time experience with the New York Jets events team. His passions for sport runs deep and his articles show for it.