Vele is expected to add what the Saints receiving corps has lacked
Only 14 days remain until the New Orleans Saints and Arizona Cardinals square off in the Superdome for the regular season kickoff. Wearing No. 14 for the Saints going into their final preseason game is wide receiver Devaughn Vele. New Orleans just acquired Vele in a trade with the Denver Broncos on Wednesday. He replaces Donovan Peoples-Jones, who also wore No. 14 before the trade. Vele is also our Saints Player of the Day.
- Name (age): Devaughn Vele (27)
- Hometown: San Diego, Calif.
- Position: Wide receiver
- Height, weight: 6-foot-5, 210 pounds
- College: Utah Utes
- Relative Athletic Score: 8.47
- Drafted: Round 7, 235 overall in 2024 (Denver Broncos)
- NFL experience: 1 year
- 2025 salary cap hit: $986,120
Upon winning a state championship at Rancho Bernardo High School in California, Vele would be a walk-on at the University of Utah after completing a two-year LDS church Mormon mission. He’d redshirt in 2019, not playing his first football in three years until two catches in five games for the Utes during a Covid-shortened 2020 season. It was enough to earn a football scholarship heading into 2021, where Vele responded with 23 receptions for 389 yards and a score. He was an even bigger part of the Utes attack in 2022 with 55 catches for 695 yards and 5 touchdowns, second on the squad. Vele capped off his collegiate career with 43 catches for 593 yards and 3 scores in 2023, leading Utah in all three categories.
Vele was taken off the board midway through Round 7 of the 2024 NFL draft by the Denver Broncos. He not only made the active roster, but caught all 8 of his targets in the 2024 regular season opener. As a rookie, Vele appeared in 13 games and played 53% of the Broncos offensive snaps. He had 41 receptions in 55 targets for 475 yards and 3 touchdowns. Vele was third on the team in targets, catches, and receiving yardage with 26 of his receptions resulting in a first down.
Vele has missed some time with knee issues this training camp and was deemed expendable in a deep Denver receiving corps. He’s expected to have more opportunities in a New Orleans offense that’s had a lack of quality depth. A big-bodied wideout that makes plays underneath, the Saints hope that Devaughn Vele can provide the consistent intermediate weapon that for the last few years their offense has lacked.