Broncos Brass Explain Decision to Trade TE Albert Okwuegbunam

Amid conflicting reports that the Denver Broncos had waived tight end Albert Okwuegbunam, the truth was he'd been traded at the deadline to the Philadelphia Eagles. It came a shocking disappointment to many Broncos fans, who'd come away highly encouraged and impressed by Okwuegbunam's seven-catch, 109-yard performance in the preseason finale.

After all, Broncos Country had labored long with 'Albert O,' who'd been a 2020 fourth-round pick and a former college teammate of Drew Lock. Okwuegbunam flashed big potential, but some bad injury luck and blocking woes landed him in the doghouse of two previous coaching regimes, preventing him from establishing momentum and cashing in on that talent. 

On Tuesday, after the NFL deadline to cut rosters down to 53 players (or below), head coach Sean Payton confirmed the Okwuegbunam trade and revealed the Broncos' compensation received. 

“He was [traded]. It’s basically a pick-flop in 2025," Payton said. "We got a sixth from the Eagles, and they got our seventh. Pretty ordinary at this time of the process. Teams like Philly that are not in a claiming position and would [not] be able to get the player—[they] go ahead and make a trade for the player.”

Payton speaks to the waiver wire order. The Eagles, having represented the NFC in the Super Bowl back in February, are second-to-last in the waiver wire order, while the Broncos are fifth. 

Making the Broncos' 53-man roster in Okwuegbunam's place is undrafted rookie tight end Nate Adkins. Broncos GM George Paton didn't want to compare Adkins vs. Okwuegbunam at the podium on Tuesday. 

“I don’t think it’s Adkins versus ‘Albert O,'" Paton said. "We have four tight ends we really like. They all fit exactly what we’re doing, and they all have their roles—their defined roles. It really wasn’t one versus Albert.

The bottom line is that Okwuegbunam had a very quiet training camp. His explosion of production in the finale was coaxed by the Broncos, who gave him 46 snaps ostensibly to shop him to the league. It worked. The Eagles bit. 

It was too little, too late for Albert O. He'll have an opportunity to continue his NFL career in Philly. 

Meanwhile, the Broncos have bigger fish to fry in preparing for Week 1's opener vs. the Las Vegas Raiders with No. 1 wideout Jerry Jeudy expected to be out with his hamstring injury. The Broncos need all the receiving help they can get, which is why fans are still going to be scratching their heads over the Okwuegbunam thing.