Saints acquire second-year wide receiver Devaughn Vele from Broncos for a pair of draft picks
The Broncos will get a fourth-round selection in next year's draft and a seventh-rounder in 2027 in exchange for Vele, who caught 41 passes for 475 yards and three touchdowns as a rookie last season.
Vele (6-foot-5 and 210 pounds) was a seventh-round selection by Denver out of Utah in 2024. He caught all eight passes thrown to him in last year's opener and two of his three TDs came against the AFC champion Kansas City Chiefs. He also caught a half-dozen passes for 80 yards against the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 12.
Vele joins a receiver corps in New Orleans that also includes Chris Olave, Rashid Shaheed, Brandin Cooks, Mason Tipton, Cedrick Wilson Jr. and Dante Pettis.
Led by Courtland Sutton, the Broncos have a deep wide receiving corps, which coach Sean Payton has said would provide some difficult decisions when it comes to paring the roster to the NFL-mandated 53 players next week.
In addition to Marvin Mims Jr., Trent Sherfield Sr. and Troy Franklin, rookie Pat Bryant has had an outstanding training camp as have undrafted rookies Joaquin Davis, Jerjuan Newton and Courtney Jackson.
The Broncos (2-0) visit the Saints (0-1-1) Saturday in a preseason finale.
___
AP Sports Writer Brett Martel in New Orleans contributed.
___
AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL
Arnie Stapleton, The Associated Press
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
2 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Report – Inter Milan Reach Verbal Agreement With Lens For €25M Rated Midfielder
Inter Milan have reportedly reached a verbal agreement with Lens to sign midfielder Andy Diouf. This according to Italian broadcaster Sky Sport Italia, via FCInterNews. They report that the Nerazzurri will sign the 22-year-old for a fee of around €25 million. Inter Milan are reportedly looking to sign a midfielder before the end of the summer transfer window. The Nerazzurri want a player who can give balance to the team. The aim is to sign a holding midfielder adept at winning and retaining possession of the ball. Inter have looked at a number of targets for this role. Last week, they made an offer for Roma midfielder Manu Kone, but the Giallorossi rebuffed this bid. Inter Reach Verbal Agreement With Lens For Andy Diouf WALSALL, ENGLAND – JULY 30: Wolverhampton Wanderers Andre and RC Lens Andy Diouf in action during the pre-season friendly match between Wolverhampton Wanderers and RC Lens at Pallet-Track Bescot Stadium on July 30, 2025 in Walsall, England. (Photo by) According to Sky Sport Italia, Inter have approached Lens about signing midfielder Andy Diouf. The Nerazzurri have identified the Frenchman as their main target in midfield. Sky report that the Nerazzurri have reached a verbal agreement with the French club. According to the broadcaster, Inter will pay a fee of around €25 million to sign Diouf. Meanwhile, Sky also report that Inter have reached an agreement with the player on a contract.
Yahoo
2 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Breaking down the first round of fantasy football drafts based on Yahoo ADP
Fantasy football analyst Matt Harmon breaks down the first round of fantasy football drafts based on current Yahoo Fantasy ADP. For more draft strategy, check out his Blueprint for 2025 drafts. Fantasy analysts spend most of the pre-draft process in the summer talking about breakouts and sleepers but we tend to never investigate the first-round picks. Yet, if your first-round selection flops, while your season isn't over, it sure does start off behind the eight-ball. As such, I wanted to dedicate some space here to diving into the consensus top picks in Yahoo ADP and discussing any reservations I have with each player. Yahoo ADP 1.01 - Bengals WR Ja'Marr Chase No hesitations here. Maybe Chase finishes as the WR4 or 5 after you drafted him first overall; that's hardly a meaningful loss. The only way I see a significant flop is if Chase or Joe Burrow gets hurt. You can't predict that. Yahoo ADP 1.02 - Falcons RB Bijan Robinson He's my RB1 in drafts this year. He was fantastic last year and has room for growth. The Falcons led the NFL by a wide margin in zone rushing rate (71%) per Fantasy Points Data, but ranked first in success rate on gap runs. The latter tends to produce more explosive plays, and Robinson needs to hit more home runs as the RB1 overall. A slight tweak in Year 2 of Zac Robinson could be just what we ordered. Yahoo ADP 1.03 - Eagles RB Saquon Barkley I personally have Robinson ranked ahead of Barkley, but I'm still fine with the latter as a top-three pick. History is against Barkley after he logged an absurd amount of touches in 2024. I suppose if Barkley slows down or misses time this season, you can't be shocked. It's just difficult to account for that in projections. Yahoo ADP 1.04 - Lions RB Jahmyr Gibbs He's in danger of the Lions offense regressing and the interior offensive line withering. Not to mention, David Montgomery is not going away. You just need to bet on an explosive player in a still-strong ecosystem who should only be ascending as the lead back. It's a bet I am willing to make. Yahoo ADP 1.05 - Vikings WR Justin Jefferson I'm perfectly fine with Justin Jefferson as a Round 1 pick, especially now that he's returned to practice after a hamstring injury. However, I have the next guy ranked ahead of him due to my concerns about Minnesota's passing volume while starting an inexperienced quarterback. Yahoo ADP 1.06 - Cowboys WR CeeDee Lamb Lamb has a proven, productive quarterback under center. The Cowboys have a questionable defense and running back corps. They could push to lead the NFL in pass attempts and the presence of George Pickens will open up the underneath game for Lamb to pile up efficient catches. Yahoo ADP 1.07 - 49ers RB Christian McCaffrey The way this goes wrong for Christian McCaffrey is obvious: Injuries. However, the way it hits is just as clear. McCaffrey totaled 671.7 half PPR points from 2022 to 2023. The second-place finisher was Henry with 518.9. When he plays, CMC laps the field at running back. Yahoo ADP 1.08 - Ravens RB Derrick Henry Derrick Henry is back to fight the good fight against Father Time. Even if he declines as an explosive rusher, he's still a great bet for double-digit touchdowns as the lead back on one of the best offenses in football. Yahoo ADP 1.09 - Texans WR Nico Collins Elite wide receiver in real life and no worse than the fifth-best player at the position. Collins has a chance to lead the NFL in targets this season. He's the clear alpha in a room with two rookies and Christian Kirk. Collins has been an outside and on-the-line-of-scrimmage player on over 80% of his snaps in each of the last two seasons. He could be even more efficient if he moves around to other positions in Nick Caley's offense, which comes over from the Rams' tree. Yahoo ADP 1.10 - Lions WR Amon-Ra St. Brown Similar to Gibbs, there are some concerns about the environment with Frank Ragnow retiring and Ben Johnson moving on. However, St. Brown is a safe target for Jared Goff and keeps getting better every season. There might be some other wideouts I prefer as first-rounders but I'm not full-fading St. Brown. Yahoo ADP 1.11 - Giants WR Malik Nabers Nabers joins guys like Tyreek Hill, Davante Adams and A.J. Brown to see at least 30% of their team's targets in a year over the last three seasons. For all of Russell Wilson's flaws, he will deliver more catchable deep targets to Nabers. Let's just hope his current back and foot ailments aren't serious. Yahoo ADP 1.12 - Raiders RB Ashton Jeanty There are holes in Jeanty's profile, considering the Raiders' offensive line is a mid-unit at best, they have a poor secondary that will push them into pass-heavy scripts and they just aren't likely to crack the top 20 in points scored. However, we've seen one of the biggest running back busts get by on volume and goal-line work, which Jeanty should get plenty of and make it work in fantasy. Jeanty will be much better than this. Please collect yourself and let's move on. It's just worth considering the negatives. Other names you should consider At present, Drake London is my 10th-ranked player. London and Nabers are right up there with Collins as some of my non-obvious favorites to lead the league in targets. London saw a whopping 39.8% of the targets in the three games Michael Penix Jr. started last season. Penix unlocks the deep area of the field for London and the receiver's new role in Robinson's offense provides layups over the middle of the field as a slot-heavy and motion target. Elsewhere, it's simple: If Matthew Stafford is healthy and on the field, Puka Nacua should be a first-round pick and form a dangerous tandem with Davante Adams. As it stands now, with all the oddness surrounding Stafford's back ailment, I can't green-light Nacua as a Round 1 selection. De'Von Achane is a favorite of the fantasy community. The case goes something like this: In 2023 he got it done on freaky rushing efficiency (7.8 yards per carry) and in 2024 he got it done on high-end receiving usage, as he turned 87 targets into 592 yards, most among running backs. What if both happen in 2025? While I think it's also possible neither happens — because I'm skeptical of Miami's run game and overall offensive trajectory — I can't see them going too far away from the receiving usage. Thus, he looks like a great high-floor bet in the early second round. Brian Thomas Jr. is another high-end wideout that Scott Pianowski has as his 12th overall player. Hard to argue. Thomas posted an 80.8% success rate vs. press coverage (93rd percentile) in Reception Perception as a rookie. Here are the other Year 1 players to clear the 90th percentile in RP history (2014 to present): CeeDee Lamb in 2020, Michael Thomas in 2016, Tyreek Hill in 2016, Garrett Wilson in 2022, Justin Jefferson in 2020, Ja'Marr Chase in 2021, Ladd McConkey in 2024 and Odell Beckham in 2014. You want to make a first-round bet on that type of player? You won't get a fight from me.
Yahoo
2 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Iga Swiatek enters the US Open back at No. 2 in the rankings and back on top of her game
On the day last month that Iga Swiatek resoundingly announced to the world that she was, most definitively, back at her best — ready once again to dominate her opponents and, indeed, all of women's tennis — she already was looking ahead. 'After a few days of celebrating,' Swiatek said, just hours into her status as a Wimbledon champion by virtue of a 6-0, 6-0 victory in the final there, 'I'm going to need to get back on hard courts and grind and grind and grind.' The work is paying off. As she now goes to the U.S. Open, which starts in New York on Sunday, it's only fair to look at Swiatek the way the world did not all that long ago: as a player with the talent and mindset to succeed on all surfaces, in all conditions, against all players. The 24-year-old from Poland who already owns six major titles — and needs only an Australian Open trophy to complete a career Grand Slam — has returned to her elite status, not to mention returned to No. 2 in the rankings, behind only Aryna Sabalenka and ahead of Coco Gauff. It means Swiatek, who ceded the top spot to Sabalenka last October and slid as low as No. 8, couldn't face the 2024 champion at Flushing Meadows until the final. 'Wherever Swiatek's ranked, she's playing like a No. 1 again,' was the observation from three-time major champion Lindsay Davenport on Tennis Channel's telecast of the Cincinnati Open final on Monday. That's when Swiatek defeated Jasmine Paolini 7-5, 6-4 with the help of nine aces to complete a run through the hard-court tournament without dropping a set. That allowed Swiatek to earn her 11th career title at a WTA Masters 1000, the second-highest total (behind only the 13 for Serena Williams) since 2009. This latest triumph also gave Swiatek her second trophy in her past three events — the other came on the grass courts of the All England Club on July 12 — following a drought of more than a year without so much as reaching a final anywhere. Yes, it wasn't all that long ago that Swiatek was dealing with a difficult stretch, on the court and off it. In addition to the disappointing-for-her results, there was the not-insignificant matter of a doping case connected to a tainted sleeping aid and an agreed-upon ban of one month. 'It wasn't easy,' Swiatek said. But she got through it all and is playing with the sort of freedom that was missing for some time and the mental toughness that she proudly symbolized Monday by jutting her index finger at her temple on the way up to the net for a handshake after closing things out against Paolini with an ace. It was a performance that showed off key traits Swiatek possesses. The bigger-than-ever serve. The imposing forehand. Point-altering court coverage, all anticipation and tiny steps. 'You're playing amazing,' Paolini told Swiatek during the trophy ceremony. It's noteworthy that she's doing so on faster surfaces these days, after being mistakenly labeled by some as a clay-courter, based on her four titles at Roland-Garros. Let's not forget that Swiatek already won the U.S. Open in 2022, and had earned a junior title at Wimbledon as a teenager, so perhaps her most recent successes should be viewed more as confirmation than some sort of discovery. With the help of coach Wim Fissette, who came aboard late last year, Swiatek is not so much a new player as, if anything, an improved version. ___ Howard Fendrich has been the AP's tennis writer since 2002. Find his stories here: More AP tennis: