8. Trading Trinity Benson after his big preseason
Broncos receive:
- 2022 5th-round pick
- 2022 7th-round pick
Lions receive:
- WR Trinity Benson
- 2023 6th-round pick
This trade by the Denver Broncos was a masterclass by general manager George Paton. The Broncos took a practice squad player who wasn't going to make their final roster and turned his great preseason into multiple draft picks coming back from another team. The Detroit Lions, who have obviously been on a much different trajectory than the Broncos in recent years, were desperate for wide receiver help after the 2021 preseason. The Broncos felt like they had a ton of depth, and they sent preseason star Trinity Benson to Detroit for 5th and 7th-round picks in the 2022 NFL Draft.
It should also be noted that, although Benson has since parted ways once again, he actually ended up back on the Denver Broncos practice squad at one point after this trade, and the Lions actually ended up trading that 6th-round pick back to Denver, who just used it in the Spring to take safety JL Skinner.
The moral of the story here? Not every preseason star is going to work out in the regular season, so if a team is coming to you offering you substantial picks for a guy, you probably have to take the deal. A lot of Broncos fans were upset about the Trinity Benson trade when it happened but they were much better off with those extra NFL Draft darts.