The last time the Broncos were so desperate to get in the Super Bowl conversation they traded for Russell Wilson.

And how did that turn out?

Waddle, Waddle.

If it looks like desperation, swims like a reach for a No. 1 receiver and quacks like extravagance, then I’ve got to ask:

After sitting on the sideline during NFL free agency, what the duck did the Broncos do Tuesday by giving away this year’s draft to acquire Jaylen Waddle from the Miami Dolphins?

In the final season before quarterback Bo Nix wants to get paid, Denver has put the pedal to the metal, rolling down the road in championship-or-bust mode.

Waddle, who averaged 13.5 yards per catch and 5.4 touchdowns per season in a five-year stint with the Dolphins, will help the Super Bowl quest.

So I like the aggression exhibited by Denver to go for the gusto.

But the football judgment? Not so much.

This deal for Waddle, in which the Broncos sent picks in the first and third round to Miami, carries a whiff of desperation that smells like a franchise burnt by criticism for its failure to add a single playmaker on either side of the ball during free agency.

General manager George Paton and coach Sean Payton overpaid for Waddle.

You might have a different opinion. But you’d be wrong.

Of course, at this time next year, if there’s a fourth Vince Lombardi Trophy on display at the team’s Dove Valley headquarters, nobody will think twice about the steep price for Waddle.

And I gladly will toast the Broncos at the championship parade.

But the $14.3 million average salary that Kansas City committed to free agent running back Kenneth Walker III seems like a more prudent and impactful football investment than this reach by Denver.

Rather than staying one step ahead of their main competition in the AFC West, this feels like a catch-up move by the Broncos.

Miami, a franchise in full rebuild mode, was holding a fire sale.

The Broncos, however, paid full Cartier retail price for Waddle.

At age 27, Waddle certainly has skills and plenty of tread on his wheels. But he isn’t any more of a legit WR1 than Courtland Sutton.

With a Denver offense plagued by way too many three-and-outs in 2025, Waddle will be given the game-breaking shots that Marvin Mims Jr. was never consistently allowed in Payton’s playbook.

Waddle is a nice complement to Sutton.

But is he a clear upgrade as Nix’s primary target? Dream on.

Buffalo and Pittsburgh, two other AFC playoff teams in dire need of help in  their receiving rooms, beat the Broncos to the punch with trades earlier this month for DJ Moore and Michael Pittman Jr., high-quality wideouts who didn’t cost nearly as much on the trade market as Waddle.

Is it too soon to remind you the events that led to Seattle becoming the reigning Super Bowl champs began with a desperate move by Denver? Paton committed the worst trade in team history four years ago this month by swapping a pair of first-round draft choices, as well as Drew Lock, Shelby Harris and Noah Fant, for Wilson.

OK, if all Waddle does is avoid dividing the locker room and alienating the fan base, he will never be condemned by Broncos Country to live in the same infamy where DangeRuss permanently resides.

But for a team that fell three points short of the Super Bowl without Nix and J.K. Dobbins on the field, here’s hoping Waddle embraces the pressure of being the last piece to a championship puzzle.

While Paton deserves credit for only taking a small salary cap hit of $5 million for Waddle in 2026, that expenditure explodes to $27 million next year, at the same time when Denver must ponder if Nix really is a quarterback worthy of being paid $50 million per season.

The urgency for Denver to win a championship cannot be oversold.

So how do we define success for Waddle in a Broncos uniform?

No. 1: The last time any Denver quarterback enjoyed two passing targets capable of 1,000 receiving yards was 2016, when Demaryius Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders did it for Trevor Siemian. Waddle and Sutton should be expected to end the drought.

No. 2: The Broncos haven’t scored an average of 28 points since Peyton Manning was at the controls of the offense way back in 2014. For Nix to fulfill the QB potential that Payton has boldly predicted, it’s time for Nix and Waddle prove it on the scoreboard.

No. 3: Waddle can forever win the heart of Broncos Country on Valentine’s Day 2027 by singing and dancing in a confetti rain at SoFi Stadium. And maybe that’s ultimately how we should judge this expensive trade for Waddle:

Super Bowl. Or bust.