Who is Devaughn Vele?
By: Jake Rajala
The New Orleans Saints acquired Devaughn Vele last season from the Denver Broncos. Sean Payton even admitted that it was hard to move on from him.
Vele has been a stud this season thus far. He has brought back memories of Marques Colston with his size, catch radius, and motor.
Vele has recorded 133 yards and a touchdown entering Week 3. He’s on pace for 1,130 yards. Let’s be fair and point out that it’s only Week 3. It won’t be easy to sustain a high level of play for the entire season. Furthermore, the Saints will welcome back Jordyn Tyson after four games. I expect him to be the WR2, while Chris Olave will be the WR1.
I expect Vele to be a red zone threat and finish the season with several touchdowns. We witnessed Kellen Moore called a play in Week 2, where Tyler Shough was supposed to throw it up for Vele in the corner of the end-zone. Clearly, they feel comfortable with Vele winning 50-50 balls.
Vele also reminds me of Michael Thomas. Vele can take the hits and get YAC with passes thrown to him across the middle of the field. I don’t quite expect Vele to win Offensive Player of the Year, however.
Vele is 28 years old. Clearly, he was old for a rookie. To be fair, WRs can play at a high level in their early 30s. After all, we just witnessed Davante Adams record 221 yards and two touchdowns at 33 years old.
The Saints don’t have many big weapons, so it’s paramount that he stays healthy. Juwan Johnson is the other huge weapon that comes to mind. They both can fill a role that large weapons make, such as making catches that are far over their head and taking many hits.
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