Miami led the NFL with 4,514 passing yards in the 2023 season, and Dolphins wide receiver Jaylen Waddle is looking for bigger things in 2024.

The former Alabama standout thinks Miami can get more out of its attack after adding wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. in free agency.

“I can’t wait, man,” Waddle said. “Like I said, when I was in high school, these guys were getting it done in the league, so I was a fan of OBJ, I was a fan of Tyreek Hill. They’re like the head honchos of the pass era, so playing with them, the kid in me is going to be kind of excited.”

Beckham had 4,122 receiving yards from 2014 through 2016, the third-most for a player in NFL history in his first three seasons. But he hasn’t been a Pro Bowler since that run, and he had 35 receptions for 565 yards and three touchdowns in 14 regular-season games for the Baltimore Ravens in 2023.

For the second straight season in 2023, Hill and Waddle produced more than 1,000 receiving yards apiece. Hill led the NFL with 1,799 receiving yards and 13 touchdown receptions as he caught 119 passes last season. Waddle had 72 receptions for 1,014 yards and four touchdowns even though he missed three games.

“Tyreek has been great,” Waddle said. “That’s my big bro. He helps me in all type of ways, off the field, on the field. Just really letting me be by his side and learn from him, and he’s really able to teach me what makes him him.”

Miami, the Philadelphia Eagles and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers were the NFL teams with two 1,000-yard receivers in each of the past two seasons.

“I think the trends of the National Football League are very interesting,” Miami coach Mike McDaniel said last week. “I do think our two guys have exemplified to a degree the issues that can be presented towards a defense with their skill sets and their threats. I’m not sure if that’s a necessarily a newfound thing to have two top-tier receivers, but I do think that people have kind of started to recognize a little more of the ways you can use players in different ways. You can get them the ball, you can do some low-cost offense where you can throw it short and run long, those types of things. And I think there is a probably higher priority for that position than probably when I came into the league. But is part of that just flag football and the development of the receiver position and that particular athletes are coming out? That’s for another conversation, but I do recognize that there’s a lot of strong wide-receiver duos and teams are prioritizing that, for sure.”

In May, the Dolphins signed Waddle to a three-year, $84.75 million contract extension. Because Miami already had picked up its option on Waddle’s contract for the 2025 season, the extension could keep the wide receiver with the Dolphins through the 2028 campaign.

“It’s a blessing, man,” Waddle said. “A blessing. It’s always a blessing to get an extension from an organization that brought you into this league. Yeah, blessing man. …

“You never know, man. It’s a business part on both sides, so you never know. It made sense for both sides, and we were able to get it done.”

Waddle said the extension showed the Dolphins “are confident in me. Like I said, man, they brought me into this league taking a chance. I was 22, coming off a major injury, so it’s always been love since I got here, and we were just happy to get something done.”

After joining the Dolphins from the Crimson Tide’s 2020 undefeated CFP national-championship team, Waddle broke the NFL rookie record for receptions by catching 104 passes. In his second season, Waddle led the NFL with an average of 18.1 yards per reception in 2022.

With 251 receptions for 3,385 yards and 18 touchdowns, Waddle is among eight players in NFL history to reach those numbers in those three stats in his first three seasons.

“I think it’s been a really cool process with Jaylen just because I got involved in his career, got to start coaching him after he had a 100-reception rookie year,” McDaniel said. “And it was early on that I could tell that this guy has unique skills to play at a high level really across the board – unique slot-route running, full-field speed, playmaking ability, all of that. But then you’re around him, you see the competitor. He’s such a great human being. But the drive for greatness is real for him.

“I know last year, I guess from a statistical standpoint measured against the year before may have been a dip in numbers. However, I think his play had improved from the year before. I think he had an unbelievable offseason that there was a couple injury blips on the radar that kind of kept him from his game, but I think he’s continuing to develop, which is great news for the Miami Dolphins, because I think he’s a big-time player that’s hungry, and those are great things for fans to watch and organizations to have on their team.”

Hill said he was happy Waddle had received an extension.

“It’s great,” Hill said. “It’s been awesome, man. Just to see his whole development from where he’s come from, because when I first got here, there were a lot of things that needed to be cleaned up. I was the same way, too, though — young pup, very explosive, fast, could move with some of the best of them. But as far as with Jaylen, he’s done a great job of taking on some of the things I’ve been telling him, and we have such a tremendous receiver coach in Wes Welker that he’s been listening to him also. Just to see him get paid, just to see him get recognized as one of the top guys in this league is awesome.”

Now Waddle wants Miami to get an extension worked out with quarterback Tua Tagovailoa.

“Tua is my guy,” Waddle said. “I’ve been saying that for a long time. Without Tua, I don’t think I would’ve got the extension I got, so everybody is rooting for him. He’s our guy. Makes sense, let’s get it done.”

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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.