Sometimes an offer can just be too good to pass up.
The Denver Broncos found out as much on August 20, when they shocked their franchise and their fanbase by sending second year wide receiver DeVaughn Vele to the New Orleans Saints in exchange for a 2026 fourth round pick and 2027 seventh round pick.
It’s an incredible windfall to get back from head coach Sean Payton’s old team in exchange for Vele, who was a seventh round pick (No. 243 overall) in the 2024 NFL draft and had 41 receptions for 475 yards and 3 touchdowns as a rookie.
“And another trade!” ESPN’s Adam Schefter wrote on his official X account. “The Denver Broncos are sending WR Devaughn Vele to the New Orleans Saints for a 2026 4th-round pick and a 2027 7th-round pick, per sources.”
The trade comes less than a week before the deadline for NFL teams to cut their rosters down to 53 players and just days after a bravura preseason outing by another second year wide receiver in a 27-7 preseason win over the Arizona Cardinals on August 17; Troy Franklin had 4 receptions for 67 yards and 2 touchdowns in the first half alone.
Vele Seemed on Track to Become Broncos’ WR2
Vele, 6-foot-5 and 210 pounds, has drawn constant comparisons to one of Payton’s former proteges on the Saints in 2019 NFL Offensive Player of the Year Michael Thomas. He also seemed like he was in the running to become Denver’s WR2 option behind Courtland Sutton in 2025.
It was a heated race for that spot between Vele, Marvin Mims, Franklin and rookie third round pick Pat Bryant.
“Mims, Vele and Troy Franklin, who scored Denver’s lone touchdown in the wild-card loss to the Buffalo Bills, could rightly envision themselves having ‘ascensions,’ as Payton put it, in the Broncos’ offense this season,” The Athletic’s Nick Kosmider wrote on June 3. “But the math suggests the Broncos can’t ramp up production for all three targets while building more of the passing game around (tight end) Evan Engram, incorporating Bryant and continuing to feed Sutton at a high level. So how will the distribution shake out?”
Trade Seemed To Come Out Of Nowhere
Social media reactions to Vele’s trade came flying in after news of the deal broke.
“The Broncos drafted Devaughn Vele in the 7th round last year,” ESPN’s Field Yates wrote on his official X account. “They flip him a year later for a 4th and 7th round pick. Really strong return for them.”
Broncos coaches were praising Vele just hours before the trade went through.
“He’s got a lot of versatility,” offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi told The Denver Post’s Luca Evans on August 20. “He’s big, he can run, good route-runner. And, so, he’s a guy that you can plug in a lot of spots.”
“People always tell you that GMs know more than you,” X user Jacob Sanderson wrote. “Let today be one of many reminders that this is not true There is no hidden wisdom to the market where George Pickens goes for a 3 and Devaughn Vele goes for a 4 + 7 We would all be better at this than Mickey Loomis.”
Like Heavy Sports’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on Heavy Sports
The post Shocking Trade Brings Broncos ‘Windfall’ of Draft Picks appeared first on Heavy Sports.