Jaylen Waddle out for the year: Which Alabama receivers step up for in his absence?

Jaylen Waddle’s ankle injury opens the door for someone else on Alabama football to step up.

On the first play of the game, Alabama football’s Jaylen Waddle suffered a brutal ankle injury and Nick Saban said he’ll be out for the rest of the year.

Waddle had to be helped off the field after getting tackled on the opening kickoff. Though he plays on an incredibly talented Alabama Crimson Tide team, he’ll be tough to replace as a receiver and returner. But Alabama is deep at receiver, so it’ll be up to Slade Bolden to fill the void and on John Metchie to continue his breakout season.

With Waddle out, keep an eye on Slade Bolden and John Metchie III

Naturally, the three other prominent pieces of the Alabama offensive attack need to step up. We are talking about quarterback Mac Jones, running back Najee Harris and wide receiver DeVonta Smith. Harris is a bell-cow back there, so he will continue to do what he does. Like Waddle, Smith is a first-round talent at receiver. And thus far, Jones has played like a Heisman Trophy contender.

Look for wide receivers Bolden and Metchie III, as well as tight end Miller Forristall to become more integral parts of Steve Sarkisian’s passing offense. While Forristall and Metchie have gotten plenty of looks in the first four weeks of the season, Bolden is the beneficiary here.

Despite being Alabama’s No. 4 wide receiving option, that really does not matter in Sarkisian’s scheme. Keep in mind Smith and Waddle played third and fourth fiddle to two other first-round receiving talents last year in Jerry Jeudy and Henry Ruggs III. Jeudy went to the Denver Broncos, while Ruggs plays for the Las Vegas Raiders. Bolden is talented enough to help offset the Waddle loss.

Few, if any, programs in the country are able to plug-and-play at the wide receiver position quite like Alabama does. It was not all that long ago Saban’s Crimson Tide was keen on the three yards and a cloud of dust offensive mentality seemingly ever-present in high-end SEC football. Well, they adapted to a more passing-centric offense and have thus been rewarded for it.

No Alabama wide receiver benefits more from a Waddle injury than does Bolden this season.

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