The New Orleans Saints made a tough decision, trading wide receiver Rashid Shaheed to the Seattle Seahawks. This move should force Devaughn Vele to step up.
Vele is still a new kid in town, having only been with the team since August, when the Saints sent a fourth-round this year, and seventh round pick in 2027 to the Denver Broncos in exchange for him. Not a cheap price; many expected that the former seventh-round pick would have a prominent role in the 2025 offense. However, that has not been the case, and Vele has only seen 10 targets through the first 10 weeks of the season. That's not worth the compensation that the team gave up for him.
In these next few weeks, Vele should finally get the opportunity to show his doubters that he's worth the capital that the Saints gave up. The team obviously likes him, and now it's time to show why.
Saints WR Devaughn Vele has the chance to back up Sean Payton's preseason praise
Devaughn Vele had a rookie season that not many expected, gathering 41 receptions for 475 yards and three touchdowns; and of those 41 receptions, 26 of them (70%) were for a first down gain. That's exceeding the expectations of a seventh-round draft pick, so it makes sense why Broncos head coach Sean Payton was reluctant to give him up.
The head coach said that Vele is only the 26th player that he's traded for in his career. "I looked over those trades, the other 25, and 90% of them were easy trades to make," Payton said to the media. "Then there's that 10% that are difficult. This was one of those 10%. He had all the things that we look for in players: discipline, smarts, toughness, and talent—that's why this was difficult."
It means a lot if Sean Payton, a super bowl winning head coach, is saying that about a player. That's something that makes Vele's lack of snaps so far this season even more frustrating, because if he has those qualities, why is he not seeing the field for New Orleans? Now though, in the wake of the Rashid Shaheed trade, he gets the chance to show that Sean Payton wasn't just talking to talk.
Vele won't step into the same role as Shaheed, but he will take a step up in the pecking order. It feels almost impossible to imagine Vele not getting more snaps and targets. If it doesn't happen, we should grow even more concerned.