ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — The Denver Broncos rookie turning the most heads this summer isn't first-round draft pick Bo Nix but receiver DeVaughn Vele, a seventh-rounder from the University of Utah whose recent one-handed catch has been the highlight of training camp. Vele isn't your typical rookie — he'll turn 27 in December — so the 235th overall selection in the 2024 NFL draft is in a hurry to make his mark as a pro.
"I feel like I got a little chip on my shoulder that I have to be better because I don't have the luxury of developing and being that guy that's like, 'Oh, in a few year's he'll be good,'" Vele said Wednesday. "I feel like I have to contribute as much as I can now." Vele has wasted no time in standing out in a crowded receiving room that features holdovers Courtland Sutton, Lil'Jordan Humphrey, Marvin Mims Jr.
and Brandon Johnson along with free agent Josh Reynolds, fourthround draft pick Tony Franklin and veteran Tim Patrick, who is coming back from consecutive season-ending leg injuries. Vele's path to the NFL was a long one. He didn't go to college until after serving a two-year Mormon mission in Samoa.
Then, he redshirted his first year at Utah and his 2020 season was interrupted by the pandemic. Finally, he started 38 games for the Utes over the last three seasons, totaling 123 catches for 1,677 yards and nine touchdowns. Although he has great size for a wide receiver at 6-foot-5 and 210 pounds, his age dropped him to the seventh round of the draft in April.