In a move breaking on Thursday, the Denver Broncos traded Devaughn Vele to the New Orleans Saints, and their next move is quite obvious. Trading Vele to the Saints for a pair of draft picks, the Broncos just gave themselves a ton of clarity in their wide receiver room for 2025.
Both Troy Franklin and Pat Bryant seemed to perform well enough this offseason to force Vele off the roster, as the emergence of those two players made Vele's role on the Broncos redundant. The team also signed Trent Sherfield in the offseason to help out at the bottom of the depth chart and for blocking/special teams purposes.
Anyway, the Broncos' WR room figures to look something like: Courtland Sutton, Marvin Mims Jr, Troy Franklin, and Pat Bryant as the top guys. After making this move, the Broncos add some capital in the 2026 and 2027 NFL Drafts. What move should they make next?
Denver must add a tight end in the coming days or weeks
Sean Payton did seem to indicate that the Broncos are open to adding a player at the tight end position:
Sean Payton: “We’ll continue to pay close attention to the fullback wire, tight end”
— Zac Stevens (@ZacStevensDNVR) August 19, 2025
With the departure of Vele, Denver might have more of a reason to add another playmaker who could fit a more defined role on the offensive side of the ball. Denver signed Evan Engram earlier this offseason after his shocking cut from the Jacksonville Jaguars, so that was a nice surprise.
But beyond Engram, Denver doesn't have much. It would be in their best interest to see if a shocking name at the position hits the open market or if they even could swing a trade to add one themselves. This team is very, very close, as their remaining roster needs are quite small.
And after making this bold move to trade Devaughn Vele, their next move is quite clear.