What the Former Broncos Wide Receiver Will Bring to the Saints

Throughout the offseason months, the New Orleans Saints received the attention of the entire league. Aside from the competition as to who will become the starting QB at the start of the official season, there has also been speculation as to who will fill in the remaining essential offensive positions. Fortunately, many of those empty positions, particularly the wide receiver position, have resulted in extending the contracts of Chris Olave and Dante Pettis for another season. The first two preseason games provided the opportunity for head coach Kellen Moore to observe which areas needed improvement, which led to this week’s decision to send a 2026 fourth-round pick and a 2027 seventh-round pick to the Broncos in exchange for WR Devaughn Vele.

Mr. Vele started his college football experience in 2019 with the Utah Utes. His first of three freshman years as a wide receiver was uneventful except for his playing in four games. However, in 2020, he would play five games and have two receptions. In his third and final season as a freshman, Vele would almost triple the amount of games played to 14, resulting in 23 receptions and 389 receiving yards. In 2022, during his sophomore year, he would again play 14 games during which he would increase his receptions to 55 and receiving yards to 695, or an average of 12.6 receiving yards per reception. In his 2023 season, Devaughn would be seen on the field in 10 games, where he would have 43 receptions and 593 receiving yards. Instead of remaining for his senior season, Vele would begin his professional football career by being picked 235th overall by the Denver Broncos in the seventh round of the 2024 draft. During his rookie season, he started seven of the 13 games he played. Devaughn had 475 receiving yards, 41 receptions, and three touchdowns. This would yield an average of 11.6 yards per reception, 26 first downs, and a 63.6% receiving success rate.

When you look at both his college and NFL rookie-season stats, you can see that Devaughn’s potential is increasing. This 27-year-old is obviously at the beginning of his prime years, which means we will likely see him starting in almost every game of this season. His season under future Hall-of-Fame coach Sean Payton certainly provided him with guidance and advice he will be able to refer to for the remainder of his professional career. The Saints’ coaching staff made a smart decision to acquire this six-foot-five player who will easily be seen by the QB when a game-winning touchdown pass needs to be made. In several years, when he is still a member of their roster, New Orleans will prove to have been a great place for this young and rising talent.