Broncos Vet Sounds Off on Young WR Duo in Wake of Devaughn Vele Trade

Without the emergence of young wide receivers Pay Bryant and Troy Franklin, the Denver Broncos likely wouldn't have traded away Devaughan Vele. Throughout training camp and the preseason, Bryant and Franklin have been flashing.

Broncos starting safety Brandon Jones has been impressed by what he's seen from the young wideouts.

“I’ve seen a lot of growth. Just their overall confidence of going to get the ball, running routes, them being able to diagnose as well what the secondary is playing, what coverage we’re in," Jones said on Thursday. "They’re making their breaks based on the coverage, the leverage that we have. I’ve always said if you are comfortable, that’s when you can play fast and play your best brand of football.”

Diagnosing complex coverages only comes with experience, but both Bryant and Franklin are learning quickly. That high football IQ factor that Broncos head coach Sean Payton prizes so highly is clearly in play, and it's also a credit to how GM George Paton is on board with drafting smart players.

While Vele certainly fits into the intelligent player bracket, the Broncos' logjam at certain positions is emblematic of an extremely deep and talented team. That only served to hasten the departure of Vele to the wide receiver-needy New Orleans Saints, but the fourth-round and seventh-round pick the Broncos got in return cushion the blow.

Payton's rising confidence in the burgeoning youth movement within his wide receiver room is increasingly obvious. It also becomes much easier to make bold moves in the trade market with No.1 receiver Courtland Sutton re-signed to a lucrative new long-term deal.

Jones explained how Sutton provides the kind of leadership qualities that make it possible to fast-track younger receivers into becoming productive pros.

“I think Courtland is just the ultimate team leader," Jones said. "He’s taken all the young guys under his wing. He’s always looking for ways to better his craft. He’s very similar to me, as you can never get comfortable and you can never be too good. There’s always room for improvement and room for growth. He’s been a super vocal guy. He has been helping these young guys out. [He is a] very, very savvy receiver from what I’ve seen.”

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Jul 24, 2025; Englewood, CO, USA; Denver Broncos wide receiver Courtland Sutton (14) and wide receiver Pat Bryant (13) during Denver Broncos Training Camp. | Isaiah J. Downing/Imagn Images

The veterans are leading the way and guiding the younger talent on Denver's roster, blending youth with savvy experience. It's a combination that often bears fruit if it can be done well.

Payton likely only traded Vele away to his former team because he believes the Broncos' roster is in good enough health to cope with making a significant subtraction, even with the regular season looming large.

It speaks to the confidence Payton has instilled in this group that even hot on the heels of losing a key contributor in Vele, veteran guard Quinn Meinerz is still determined to accentuate only the positive factors within the organization.

“We have a great coaching staff that, I mean, they coach the hell out of everybody. I think as now an older player and also some of the people that we’ve brought into this team, it’s not only the coaches, it’s the players as well," Meinerz said on Friday. "As an older player, I expect more out of the younger people who are on this team, and we’re trying to form and build something here. When you’re a young person coming into a well-established system, you really have to quickly learn. So part of the job in some way as an older player is to help bring them along because the coaches are trying to get us ready as the starters, but they’re also trying to make sure that the other people are getting ready as well.”

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