The 53-man roster deadline is approaching. Wednesday was a busy day for several NFL teams, as they are looking to enter the season with the best possible players. Four trades, including players and draft selections, were announced. The Denver Broncos were among the teams involved.
They traded their 2024 seventh-round draft pick, wide receiver Devaughn Vele, to the New Orleans Saints in exchange for a 2026 fourth-round pick and a 2026 seventh-round pick.
Devaughn was an interesting selection a year ago, as he entered the 2024 NFL Draft at 26 years old. There was a lot of criticism for selecting an older player, but the former Utah Ute ended up being a very underrated weapon for Bo Nix. He had 41 receptions, 475 yards, and 3 touchdowns in his rookie year, despite playing in only 13 games.
Updated Broncos WR room following the Devaughn Vele trade:
With Vele gone, the Denver Broncos wide receiver room has now 11 players. These wideouts are:
- Courtland Sutton
- Marvin Mims
- Troy Franklin
- Pat Bryant
- Trent Sherfield Sr.
- Michael Bandy
- AT Perry
- Courtney Jackson
- Jerjuan Newton
- Kyrese Rowan
- Joaquin Davis
Reports indicate that Denver plans to include six wideouts on the 53-man roster, regardless of what happened with Vele. Young players such as Troy Franklin and rookie Pat Bryant, along with veteran Trent Sherfield Sr., have stepped up in camp and preseason. This has resulted in Devaughn dropping spots in the depth chart and ultimately being traded to a familiar team, the New Orleans Saints.
This young Broncos receiver room is loaded with talent, which gave them the opportunity to move on from a guy who had a good rookie season last year, but was expected to have a decreased role in 2025. Instead, Denver got interesting draft capital for next year. In my opinion, UDFA Courtney Jackson has had a good preseason and could make a case for the 53-man roster.
It will be interesting to see who ends up as the sixth man if they indeed have that many receivers on the final roster. Could it be one of the undrafted signings? If they only include five players, that Vele spot might be used for another position, possibly running back, which is a crowded room too. Moving on from a guy who was making the roster gives the team big flexibility for depth at positions with injury history or for positions they cannot decide on who to cut.