The Buffalo Bills have made several notable moves early this offseason in their quest to finally find their way back to the Super Bowl. However, it may be one of the moves that the front office was unable to make that will come back to haunt the team once it returns to action for the 2026 campaign.

That move would have been a trade for wide receiver Jaylen Waddle, who was sent from the Miami Dolphins to the Denver Broncos on Tuesday morning. While Buffalo acquired D.J. Moore in a trade with the Chicago Bears this offseason, reports indicate it wanted Waddle dating back to last season’s trade deadline, and that it was willing to give up a first-round pick to land him.

Bills Offered First-Round Pick to Dolphins for Jaylen Waddle

With the Dolphins selling off spare parts at the trade deadline last season, the guy everybody wanted was Waddle. A talented wide receiver who is still just 27 years old, Waddle was doing everything he could to keep a struggling Miami offense afloat, and he ended up finishing the year with 64 receptions for 910 yards and six touchdowns.

Ever since moving on from Stefon Diggs, the Bills have struggled to find a proper No. 1 wide receiver for their offense. Over the past few months, they have ramped up their efforts to find one, and that resulted in Moore arriving in Buffalo. Before that, though, the front office made a serious push to acquire Waddle.

Before the trade deadline, the Bills reportedly made an offer for Waddle involving a first-round pick. However, the Dolphins turned them down, as they didn’t want to see Waddle two times a year on another AFC East team. Instead, they sent him to the AFC West, as they got a first, third, and fourth-round pick in exchange for him.

“The Bills offered a 1st-round pick to the Dolphins before the trade deadline for Jaylen Waddle. Miami ended up declining. Didn’t want to trade in the division,” Ari Meirov of The 33rd Team wrote in a post on X. “They get a 1st-round pick, No. 30 overall, from the Broncos in the offseason.”

Did Bills Make a Mistake Trading for D.J. Moore Instead of Jaylen Waddle?

It’s tough to say the Bills didn’t try their hardest to land Waddle, as giving up a first-round pick for him is a pretty hefty price. Simply put, it seems like the Dolphins weren’t going to trade him to any team in their division, so Buffalo was a bit unlucky that Waddle played for one of its AFC East rivals.

Moore showed some signs of decline in 2025, which makes him a bit of a worrying addition, but he still is an upgrade over every wide receiver on the Bills roster. Sure, acquiring Waddle would have been nice, but Buffalo still did good work to find a way to bring Moore to town, and he should be able to have an immediate impact on offense next season.