Sam Navarro-Imagn Images
By Ross Jackson
Even after being the talk of the New Orleans Saints news cycle throughout the week, wide receiver Devaughn Vele doesn’t draw much attention to himself. Tucked away in the back corner of the team’s locker room along with the rest of the wide receiver group, he is often seen working on his team-distributed tablet or joking around with his teammates.
That demeanor changes on the football field however. No game this season has been more illustrative of that than last week’s breakout performance against the Miami Dolphins. It was a game that has left many wondering why he wasn’t involved more earlier in the season.
Vele doesn’t see it that way. Instead, he takes a more holistic approach to his contributions as a part of the team rather than as an individual.
“Every game plan we have, you know your plays that the ball is supposed to come to you,” Vele said Thursday. “But, I feel like the flow of the game, it just started shifting. And I got more opportunities and more chances at the ball. I’m just grateful that I was able to make the plays that I was able to make.”
Vele’s Long-Awaited Breakout
Vele reeled in all eight of his targets for 93 receiving yards and a touchdown catch against the Dolphins last week. It’s being seen as his breakout game after bringing in a career-high in receiving yards and becoming the first Saints’ wide receiver to notch a 100% catch rate in a game with more than seven targets since Michael Thomas in 2020.
But for Vele, the game isn’t just an illustration of his potential alone. He sees the arrival moment as just one example of the impact his room can make.
“Any game calls for that,” he said. “Sometimes it’s going to start shifting more to [Chris Olave], sometimes shift over to [Mason Tipton]. Every game is going to be different. That’s why I say those opportunities, you just got to make them count when they come your way.”
What a throw by Shough 🎯
What a catch by Vele 🙌
📺: FOX pic.twitter.com/yS9bPOvCmU
— New Orleans Saints (@Saints) November 30, 2025
Vele’s Mentality
The selflessness and maturity of the wide receiver are undeniable as he speaks. From a lone scholarship offer from Dixie State (Now Utah Tech) to a two-year mission in Somoa before beginning his collegiate career as a preferred walk-on at Utah, Vele’s path is unique. Unconventional as it may seem, it has also shaped his mentality as a player with something to prove.
Many late-round draft picks or undrafted free agents that come from walk-on paths will describe a “get it from the mud” mentality. The notion resonates with Vele and his approach to making good on the opportunities he earns.
“I knew that’s what got me here, and I’m not going to let that change me,” he said. “Even with me being here, [the Denver Broncos] trading me for a fourth and seventh. I still view it as I’m coming in here, I got to prove myself. There’s nothing given to me. It doesn’t matter that they traded for me, I still have to prove it just as much as any guy on this team that I deserve to be here.”
More Than a Pass-Catcher
One of the ways Vele has proven his value is by contributing in more ways than catching passes. While that is the crux of the job as a receiver, he’s shown that he can have an impact doing the dirty work as a blocker as well. It’s clear that this area of his game is very important to him.
Against the Dolphins, despite a breakout game, it was a negative play as a blocker that was the first part of his day Vele highlighted in his postgame press conference. When asked why that was his first reflection after his career night, he shared his elevated expectations of himself and his ability to help the team in multiple ways.
“I hold myself to really high standards,” he said., “if things that I had in my control, that I didn’t do my job, I feel like I let the team down. So that’s kind of the mindset I had. Those are the things I want to build off of. I don’t want to view this game as, ‘That was my best game. Now I don’t really have to work hard. I don’t have to do this because now everybody knows I’m good.’ No. That’s not the attitude we got to have. There’s things I’ve got to fix.”
What’s Next for the Wideout?
Vele will have a chance to follow up his career day with another favorable matchup against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ No. 29 ranked passing defense. Whether his impact comes from his receiving production or creating opportunities for other players, one thing is certain. The wide receiver will take just as much pride in the success of others as he will from his own achievements. It’s exactly the kind of approach the Saints covet.
Both on the field and off, Vele has shown that he’s ready to return every bit of value New Orleans leveraged to add him to their locker room.
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