How The Dolphins Managed To Pair One Of The Best WR Duos Of All-Time

As we enter Week 4 of the NFL season, there have been plenty of storylines and takes on a team-to-team basis.

League-wide however, there is one offensive trend that stands out against the rest: the Dolphins’ passing game.

Specifically, their passing game that’s led by two of the fastest receivers in the league.

After the first 3 weeks of the season, both Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle are on pace to average over 100 yards per game, which would be the first time in NFL history.

Even with the inflation of the aerial attacks over the years, here is how those figures compare to some of the best tandems of all time:

Hill/Waddle – 100.4 (-8.5% change)

Bruce/Holt – 96.3 (-0.8% change)

Moss/Carter – 86.2 (1.7% change)

Wayne/Harrison – 85.9 (-1.4% change)

Clayton/Duper – 83.9(0.3% change)

Even though the tandem is playing in an ever-growing passing league which causes their targets per game to fall over 15%, their yards per reception would grow by about 8%, still allowing them to average just over 100 yards per night.

And even though it seems like a simple formula to win in today’s offense, the acquisition of one of these wideouts is difficult, let alone two.

So how were the Dolphins able to bring both of these burners in? Reaping the benefits of skill position salaries.

As shown with more and more data of late, the winning formula is currently: draft a franchise quarterback, buy-in on the 4-5 year window under salary control, pay said quarterback top-of-the-league money which then handicaps the rest of your team’s ability to spend.

Simple, right?

The Dolphins not only were able to do this with third-year QB Tua Tagovailoa and second-year WR Jaylen Waddle, which gave them the salary space to afford Hill’s 4-year, $120,000,000 contract (which is only a hit of $6.5 million this year).

But, they also acquired Hill from a team in stage three of the aforementioned success formula: the Kansas City Chiefs.

In fact, the Chief’s are the biggest test subject of this so far, giving Patrick Mahomes $450 million over 10 years.

With this being the first year of Mahomes’ heavy cap hit, losing his safety valve was the most notable adjustment to Kansas City’s personnel.

But while we watch the Cheif’s management maneuver the future of the franchise, the decisions are much easier for the decision-makers in South Beach.