Patriots: 3 players to watch in Alabama-Ohio State National Championship Game

2. Jaylen Waddle

Alabama WR Jaylen Waddle could return from injury for the CFP Final.

It was largely viewed as a surprise when Alabama announced that wideout Jaylen Waddle was cleared to practice last week ahead after he missed the previous seven games with a fractured ankle suffered on a kick return against Tennessee early in the season. He underwent surgery to repair the injury and all signs point to him being available, though he could be on a snap count.

Assuming the 22-year-old star is given the green light, this is somebody Patriots fans must pay close attention to on every snap. We say that partly because he’s lightning quick and it’s easy to lose track of him, but mostly because of his jaw-dropping playmaking ability. In five games before the injury, Waddle compiled 25 receptions for 557 yards (22.3 yards per catch) and four scores, all of which ranked at or near the top of the national leaderboards at the time.

He was admittedly inconsistent in 2019, but that mostly boiled down to the fact that he was competing for targets behind the likes of Jerry Jeudy, Henry Ruggs and DeVonta Smith.

At 5-foot-10 and 182 pounds with blinding speed, Waddle is as lethal of a deep threat as any wideout to come out of college over the last couple of seasons, but mistake him for a one-trick pony at your own peril. In the simplest of terms, he’s one of the most dynamic receivers in the 2021 class and his current draft projection could see him fall right into the Patriots lap at No. 15 overall.