In the end, the Denver Broncos were met with an offer they simply could not refuse.
That, according to Saints reporter Nick Underhill, is why the Broncos opted to trade wide receiver Devaughn Vele to New Orleans on Wednesday in exchange for a 2026 fourth-round pick and a 2027 seventh-round selection.
Denver intended to retain Vele on its 53-man roster despite receiving trade interest from at least two NFL teams. But when the Saints came calling, the trigger had to be pulled.
“Broncos planned to keep six receivers, so Vele would have made the team,” Underhill reported. “Had a similar offer on the table but decided to take Saints’ offer because it could possibly end up being a better pick, I’m told.”
Broncos planned to keep six receivers, so Vele would have made the team. Had a similar offer on the table but decided to take Saints’ offer because it could possibly end up being a better pick, I’m told
— Nick Underhill (@nick_underhill) August 21, 2025
To his credit, Vele outkicked his coverage as a seventh-round rookie last season, compiling 41 catches for 475 yards and three touchdowns. He was arguably Denver’s most reliable pass-catcher, leading all receivers with a 63.6% success rate and finishing second with 26 first-down snags.
“Really good player, really good person, had a productive year last year in Denver. … We felt like it was a great opportunity for us to get a younger guy that’s still developing and growing and it’ll be great for our team,” Saints head coach Kellen Moore said Thursday, via NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.
In New Orleans, Vele will be a relatively big fish in a smaller pond, stepping into immediate playing time on a talent-bereft squad. In Denver, it was bracing to be a much different story — a figurative minnow in an ocean.
First, a knee injury sidelined for him a large portion of this offseason’s workout program. Then, the Broncos used a third-round pick on WR Pat Bryant. Then, coach Sean Payton predicted an ascension for sophomore WR Troy Franklin, who indeed has been the biggest summer standout.
It was a game of musical chairs, and Vele was left without a seat. Such is life in the league.
“I think the easy part is the fielding calls because if they come, then you sit and discuss what call came,” Payton said Tuesday. “What happens a lot is the call that comes that’s very open-ended. ‘What are you guys looking for? What are we looking for?’ You know that there’s a target in their mind. I like the decisions we have to make, [but] they’re tough ones. The process is still ongoing.”
