Surprise!
The Denver Broncos announced that they have traded wide receiver Devaughn Vele to the New Orleans Saints for a 2026 4th-round pick and a 2027 7th-round pick.
I have mentioned this as a possibility in recent weeks, and it happened. Devaughn Vele seemed like the odd man out in the Broncos’
wide receiver rotation, and it made sense for the team to listen to offers for him. In the end, they turned a 7th round selection that entered the league as an older rookie into a 4th and 7th round selection.
That’s a pretty good deal.
What made Vele expendable was the growth and development of the young receivers on the roster around him. We saw Marvin Mims Jr. have a breakout year last season and grow and develop as a receiver this offseason. We also saw Troy Franklin impress throughout the offseason, into training camp, and look impressive during the preseason. On top of that, the Broncos selected Pat Bryant in the third round despite Vele having a promising rookie year. Bryant has gone on to impress and look like a player who will contribute a good deal in his rookie year.
If you include core special teamer Trent Sherfield, one of these talented receivers was most likely going to be inactive on game days. Vele felt like the top candidate for that, despite him being talented enough to contribute and start. That made him a valuable trade asset, and in the end, the Broncos were able to get a 4th round pick that will likely be a rather early 4th round selection due to the Saints probably not being a great team this upcoming season.
So, in the end, it is a pretty good deal for the Broncos.
Now, with Vele gone, that opens up a roster spot for another receiver on the roster. I would not be surprised if undrafted rookie wide receiver Courtney Jackson took his spot on the roster. Jackson appears to be the backup returner and has plenty of speed and explosiveness to be a weapon for them. That is the name I think could benefit the most from this trade.
The Broncos roster will have to be trimmed from 90 players down to 53 here in less than a week, so we could see a few more surprise moves happen. Stay tuned to Mile High Report for all news and updates on the Broncos quest to trim their roster down to 53 players.
