It took six quarters of football for Bo Nix and the Broncos offense to wipe the sleepies from their eyes, but better late than never.
As the Broncos busted loose for 17 unanswered points in their 20-13 win over Jacksonville, we saw more of a glimpse into what Jaylen Waddle could be with Nix.
After producing virtually nothing in the season opener against Kansas City, Nix connected with his new No. 1 receiver eight times on 10 targets for 138 yards. Though he didn’t find the end zone, Waddle accounted for 34.5 percent of the team’s targets and 53.5 percent of its air yards.
Waddle provided the offense the vertical stretch — including a 49-yard catch — and yards-after-catch element that was neutralized in the opener.
Rams vs. Broncos prediction, best bet
But after Nix sent 20 percent of his passes at least 10 yards downfield in Week 1, he increased that rate to 42.9 percent in Week 2 per Sharp Football Analysis.
A lot of this was a result of how offensive coordinator David Webb successfully schemed to catch Jacksonville vulnerable in man-to-man looks.
On Sunday night, Waddle will see a Los Angeles secondary that played man coverage on 36.4 percent of its snaps against the Giants, the fourth-highest rate of the week and its highest in any game under defensive coordinator Chris Shula.
The versatile playmaker has averaged 2.04 yards per route run against man coverage during his career.
Jacksonville tried man coverage against him last week, and Waddle turned four targets into three catches for 57 yards, kissing his 57.5-yard receiving prop on man looks alone.
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The Rams are 2.5-point favorites despite being on short rest and shifting to the high altitude. After both teams had a Jekyll-and-Hyde start, Waddle’s usage provides more stability than a side.
Look for his benefit from a high-volume aerial attack from Nix against the Rams, who generated a 50 percent pressure rate last week, the second-highest mark in the NFL.
THE PLAY: Jaylen Waddle Over 57.5 Receiving Yards (-114, FanDuel)
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Sean Treppedi handicaps the NFL, NHL, MLB and college football for the New York Post. He primarily focuses on picks that reflect market value while tracking trends to mitigate risk.
