Nick Saban reportedly helped his former enemy find his new WR1 this offseason. Of course, in the same vein, he helped a former Alabama Crimson Tide receiver of his find the best possible NFL home.
Sport Illustrated's Albert Breer revealed that Saban's friendship with one of Denver Broncos GM George Paton's front office scouts helped land Jaylen Waddle in the Mile High City to team up with former Auburn Tigers quarterback Bo Nix.
Breer mentioned the 2019 Iron Bowl at Jordan-Hare Stadium as a specific selling point for the Broncos on Waddle.
“(George) Paton’s staff was already doing background work on Waddle. Bo Nix told Paton that, in the 2019 Iron Bowl, Waddle put together one of the greatest individual games he’d ever seen, even as Nix’s Auburn team beat Waddle’s Alabama team 48–45," Breer said.
“One of Paton’s scouts with a tight relationship with Nick Saban reached out, and Saban told him that Waddle was competitive, tough, sudden, and could drop his weight as fast as anyone he’d ever coached."
Bo Nix and Jaylen Waddle getting on well in Denver
Per The Denver Post’s Parker Gabriel, Nix took Waddle and several other Broncos teammates out to dinner in Denver. That helped contribute to Waddle shouting out the organization for making him feel welcomed while speaking on a conference call last week.
“It feels like home, feels like family ... Everyone has been welcoming. It’s been great.”
With a connection arranged by the head coach whose culture put him on the NFL path, Waddle knows he's in good hands. Oddly enough, it wasn't with the QB Saban recruited for him in Tuscaloosa, Tua Tagovailoa.