On second thought, maybe the Denver Broncos should steer clear of veteran wide receiver trades in the 2025 offseason. While it's nice to think about the idea of a player like Cooper Kupp or Deebo Samuel bringing their absolute best to a new organization despite being on the back nine of their NFL careers, the reality we saw in 2024 is that trading anything valuable for these aging receivers is probably a bad idea.
Now, every case is different. Trades and acquisitions in the NFL are never one-size-fits-all and you can't just put blanket statements over moves based on what has happened in the past. But it's tough to look at the veteran trades at receiver that have been made over the last calendar year and not be a little grossed out by it.
Other than Jerry Jeudy being traded by the Broncos to the Browns, it doesn't look like really any wide receiver trade made in 2024 actually worked out for the team acquiring the player. This data might help inform the Broncos' decision not to go after the likes of Cooper Kupp and Deebo Samuel but to stay patient and instead go after someone like Tee Higgins, or just settle for the NFL Draft.
Broncos might be scared off of WR trade after 2024 debacle
Notable wide receiver trades in 2024
- Jerry Jeudy: Broncos > Browns
- Diontae Johnson: Steelers > Panthers (and then Panthers > Ravens)
- Rondale Moore: Cardinals > Falcons
- Keenan Allen: Chargers > Bears
- Stefon Diggs: Bills > Texans
- Davante Adams: Raiders > Jets
- Amari Cooper: Browns > Bills
- DeAndre Hopkins: Titans > Chiefs
- Mike Williams: Jets > Steelers
If that list doesn't scare you off from making a trade for a veteran receiver, I'm not sure what will. Now, it's notable here that really the most compensation that was given up in any of these trades was what the Texans gave up to get Stefon Diggs (including a 2nd-round pick) but almost every single one of these players definitely came with some significant financial commitments.
To be fair, it's not exactly a fair evaluation of a trade to compare something happening in the offseason to something that goes down during the season. Those are two entirely different types of trades and should be expected to have wildly different results overall. When you have an entire offseason to learn an offense and get involved in the playbook, you have a distinct advantage over guys who are learning on the fly in the middle of the year.
But even in that regard, the only trades that really ended up working out would be the Jerry Jeudy trade (a young, ascending player who was acquired for next to nothing) and the Keenan Allen trade. The Bears paid a lot of money for Allen this past season just to have him provide 744 yards and 7 touchdowns. Was he valuable for Caleb Williams? Sure, but he didn't prevent Caleb Williams from almost setting the rookie record for sacks taken in a season.
Stefon Diggs suffered a major injury. Diontae Johnson was a complete and total bust for multiple teams. Amari Cooper fell off the proverbial cliff. DeAndre Hopkins and Mike Williams just don't have "it" anymore.
If you're looking for reasons to pound the table for the Broncos not to trade for veteran receivers, last year's lineup of wide receiver trades should do the trick.