MADRID -- Miami Dolphins wide receiver Jaylen Waddle 's role changed after Tyreek Hill's season-ending knee injury in Week 4; he became the Dolphins de facto top receiver.
What didn't change, however, is how the Dolphins' coaching staff viewed him.
"I think we've looked at him as a wide receiver one," coach Mike McDaniel said in the days following Hill's injury. "I think that it's not necessarily a change from the way we approach it and the way we see it, and I think he's done a fantastic job being an elite receiver, playing with another elite receiver. I don't see as far as his game, he's very, very much ready for this moment as he has seen himself as a one, and we've approached it the same way.
"So there shouldn't be really an adjustment for Jaylen Waddle, because he himself stands alone."
In the six games since, McDaniel's words have rung true.
Waddle ranks fourth in the NFL since Week 5 in receiving yards with 485, and eighth in yards per game with 80.8. He's recorded at least five receptions and 82 yards in five of those six games, and 22 of his 29 receptions in that span have resulted in a first down.
As the Dolphins prepare to face the Washington Commanders on Sunday (9:30 a.m., ET, NFL Network) in Madrid, he'll have the opportunity to extend his resurgent season against a vulnerable Commanders pass defense.
Waddle, however, is less concerned with his performance and is more focused on the team.
"We went 2-4 (over the past six games), so I mean I kind of go with the outcome of the game," he said Thursday. "It's not individual success -- it's always about the team wins. So looking at it, it's been high and low."
Part of why McDaniel said they've always seen Waddle as a No. 1 receiver is because he's been one before -- as a rookie in 2021. Shortly after making Waddle the sixth overall pick, the Dolphins made him the focal point of their passing game.
He set a franchise rookie record with 104 receptions to go along with 1,015 receiving yards and six touchdowns for an otherwise floundering offense.
Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa said Waddle had to grow up quickly that season but he's really seen his former college teammate flourish as a leader in 2025.
"I think the leadership role that Waddle has taken has also been a step forward in his game," he said Wednesday. "With the little things where it's just breaking out of the huddle -- if it doesn't look the way he wants it off of what he told the receivers, all right, everyone back in the huddle, we're going to get this right and then we do it in that way. I think his leadership aspect has taken a big step forward this year."
Waddle turned in his lone 100-yard game of the season in Miami's first without Hill, finishing with 110 yards on six receptions, including a 46-yard touchdown.
He set two season lows in a blowout loss to the Cleveland Browns in Week 7, catching just one pass for 15 yards -- but he followed that with 99, 82 and 84 yards in his three games since. In that span, heading into Week 11, only Indianapolis Colts receiver Alec Pierce had more receiving yards than Waddle.
McDaniel praised Waddle for his ability to come through in "critical situations" over the past month; he ranks fourth among receivers in receptions above expectation on third down since Week 5. He also said Waddle has excelled at the finer points of playing receiver, including knowing when to get out of his break quickly to provide a hot target for Tagovailoa.
"I think there's something to be said about his high percentage of productivity per target," McDaniel said Wednesday. "When you're the No. 1 receiver and the team is depending on you to be that, generally your targets come in critical situations whether it's situational football or moments in the game. In those situations, the team rises or falls based upon your execution of what people are depending on you to execute.
"Jaylen Waddle has always had the talent to do almost anything on the football field. A lot of receivers do have talent; he's an extraordinary talent. Playing the position of receiver in the National Football League has to do with more than just the talent. ... When you're the No.1 receiver, you have to be playing winning football, and I think he's demonstrated that he can do that for our team in a very, very effective way. It's great to see and very timely."
Sunday's matchup with the Commanders is an appetizing one for Waddle; Washington owns the second-worst pass defense in the NFL at 260.2 yards allowed per game. The Commanders recently allowed 129 yards on eight receptions to the NFL's leading receiver, Jaxon Smith-Njigba, in Week 9, before allowing 119 yards and a touchdown on six receptions to the Lions' Jameson Williams last week.
While Waddle didn't comment on the overall matchup with Washington, he did express excitement about the possibility of matching up against former teammate Noah Igbinoghene, who spent three seasons with the Dolphins from 2020 to 2022.
"I'm excited. I've seen Noah -- he's been playing great football for them over there," Waddle said. "We've got a lot of banked reps going back to when he was with the team. He's a great competitor. ... He's a great player. He is going to compete and I've got to be on my P's and Q's."