Is Jaylen Waddle Injured or Healthy? Fantasy Football Injury Update

Is Jaylen Waddle injured or healthy? Will he be ready to play in Week 1? Should you have confidence starting him in fantasy football right away? Andersen Pickard answers these questions as the preseason continues.

Summertime injuries are always the most difficult to evaluate since a player might not participate much in training camp and preseason games to prevent further injury. Then, like magic, they're on the field for Week 1 of the regular season and handle a full workload with ease.

Miami Dolphins wide receiver Jaylen Waddle is one player whose injury status comes with some uncertainty. Here, we'll sort through key questions in hopes of providing some clarity about the 24-year-old's health and Week 1 availability.

Is Jaylen Waddle injured or healthy? Will he be ready for Week 1?

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Is Jaylen Waddle Injured Or Healthy?

Waddle sustained an abdominal injury during a joint practice with the Falcons prior to Week 1 of the preseason. Although he hasn't played in either of Miami's two preseason contests, head coach Mike McDaniel has still shared his optimism about the receiver's status.

"He's doing good," McDaniel told the media on Aug. 11. "I'm really not worried about his participation within the offense. We're fortunate that's not something that I know that will be a long-term deal. He's steadily rehabbing and working with the trainers, which fires me up."

Evidently, Waddle's progress has impressed his head coach, even if the wideout hasn't actually seen any game action this summer.

Will Jaylen Waddle Be Ready For Week 1?

Given that Waddle is chomping at the bit to get on the field (and McDaniel is holding him back out of an abundance of caution), it seems safe to think the receiver should be active for Miami's Week 1 game against the Chargers. After all, these preseason games are meaningless. Waddle isn't fighting for his job, and there's no reason to push him beyond his limits, especially as he recovers.

If Waddle does suit up for Week 1 as expected, he'll be a high-end WR2 in fantasy football. The young receiver is a perfect complementary piece to star Tyreek Hill, and the two showed last season that they can absolutely co-exist in Miami's high-powered offense. Waddle also gets a boost from the strong quarterback play of Tua Tagovailoa who has a strong arm and fantastic placement on his deep passes.

Don't forget that Tagovailoa himself was a beacon of efficiency when healthy last season, totaling 8.9 yards per attempt, 9.3 air yards per attempt, and 0.57 fantasy points per dropback. He completed a phenomenal 50 percent of deep balls and 65.3 percent of red zone passes while finishing the year with a 68.5 QBR, +149.4 EPA, and +13.9 production premium. Waddle, Hill, and the other Dolphins wide receivers benefit big-time when their QB1 plays.

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