The Denver Broncos had a handful of questions surrounding the wide receiver position around seven to eight weeks ago, with much of the conversation being aimed at the team needing to add more playmakers. I myself was guilty of bringing this up, and while that’s still a priority going forward, the Broncos offense might have a crop of developing playmakers at receiver.
Denver Broncos WR Devaughn Vele in line for more opportunities
Dating back to training camp, rookie wide receiver Devaughn Vele was turning heads. Whether he was stacking consistent performances in 7-on-7 or team periods, he’d find ways to make plays. Fast forward to Week 12 and he has suddenly emerged into WR2 for Sean Payton’s offense.
Last week against the Atlanta Falcons, Vele saw 42 offensive snaps while Courtland Sutton led the way with 52. This week against the Raiders, Vele had 44 snaps (65%) of the team’s offensive snaps, with Sutton leading the team with 58 snaps (65%).
In Sunday’s win, Vele came up big for the Broncos offense, hauling in six catches on nine targets for 80 yards, including several 20-yard catches. His catch radius is impressive because he’s got a long wingspan, he’s deceptively fast at 6’4-6’5, and he has demonstrated the ability to make plays in traffic. On top of that, he’s been a solid perimeter blocker.
“Vele’s doing good,” Broncos head coach Sean Payton said. “I feel like I’m talking about the same player. The progress with Vele is—sometimes as a coach, you feel like you’re stopping the progress by not getting them touches. I don’t want to say we’re guilty as coaches, but often times afraid to play the rookies. Very quickly we’ve seen his growth. So he’s been really good. The strengths for him certainly are his hands. You guys saw it in camp. He has strong hands in traffic. He’s a guy that plays well over the middle. He reminds me a lot of [former Saints WR] Marques Colston, who I had in New Orleans for 10 or 11 years. In our staff meeting 20 minutes ago, I said, ‘We have to continue to find touches for him.’ You have a big target—I mentioned this to you guys—he’s 6’4”, but he has a short inseam. He’s someone who can get in and out of cuts. I’m glad we’re not getting towards the end of the season and not knowing about some of these rookies.”
With the looming return of Josh Reynolds, it will be interesting to see how the Denver Broncos wide receiver rotation shapes out, but Vele could be a gem in the making.