clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

Do The Broncos Shuffle: Draft Related Trades During Denver's Most Recent Decade

     This is the third and final look at the draft-related trades made by the Broncos.  The first article looked at the drafts from 1961 to 1979. The second covered the period from 1980 to 1999. This post will look at the draft-related trades that took place between 2000 and 2010.

     It was interesting to discover that from 1961 to 1979, Denver participated in nineteen drafts and made eighty draft-related trades (an average of 4.2 per draft). During the twenty drafts from 1980 to 1999, the Broncos made seventy-one trades (an average of 3.6 per draft). Denver participated in eleven drafts from 2000 to 2010 -- a little over half as many in the two previous time periods -- but also made forty-nine draft related trades in those eleven drafts. This is approximately two-thirds as many trades in one decade as were made in each of the sets of two decades. In other words, from 2000 to 2010, the Broncos did a lot of "wheeling and dealing." There were players traded away for picks, picks traded for picks, and picks traded for players. There were even three occasions in which the Broncos engaged in a "3-team" trade.

Take a jump and see what the Broncos did with their wheeling and dealing.

Players Traded Away (Date = Year Trade Took Place)

     During this period, the Broncos traded thirteen veteran players to other teams in return for one or more draft picks. In one case the trade was a player for a player and a draft pick. Numbers in parentheses indicate the number of years the player was on the Broncos' roster.

Year Player Traded Trading Partner Draft Pick Player Acquired
2000 RB Derek Loville (3) Rams 2000 6th (#189) RB Mike Anderson (3)
2000 DB Chris Watson (1) Bills 2001 4th (#110)
2000 LB Nate Wayne (2) Packers 2001 4th (#113) G Ben Hamilton (7)
2000 DE David Bowens (1) Packers 2001 7th (#219)
2003 DT Lionel Dalton (1) Redskins 2004 6th (#171) WR Triandos Luke (1)
2004 RB Clinton Portis (2) Redskins DB Champ Bailey (7) and
2004 2nd (#41) RB Tatum Bell (4)
2007 DT Gerard Warren (2) Raiders 2008 5th (#139) RB Ryan Torain (1)
2008 G Chris Myers (3) Texans 2008 6th (#183) LB Spencer Larsen (3)
2008 QB Jake Plummer (4) Buccaneers 2008 7th (#227) RB Peyton Hillis (2)
2008 WR Keary Colbert (<1) Seahawks 2009 5th (#140)
2009 DB Domonique Foxworth (3) Falcons 2009 7th (#235)
2010 WR Brandon Marshall (4) Dolphins 2010 2nd (#43) and
2011 2nd (#??)
2010 G Montrae Holland (4) Cowboys 2010 5th (#158)

 

Players + Picks Traded Away (Date = Year Trade Took Place)


     There were four players who were traded along with four draft picks to acquire two veteran players along with five draft picks.

Date Player/Picks Traded Trading Partner Draft Pick/Player Player Acquired by Pick
2004 DB Deltha O'Neal (4) and
2004 1st (#24) and
2004 4th (#117) Bengals 1st (#17) LB D. J. Williams (7)
2007 RB Tatum Bell (4) and
T George Foster (4) and
2007 5th (#158) Lions DB Dre Bly (2) and
2007 6th (#176)
2009 QB Jay Cutler (3) and
5th (#140) Bears 2009 1st (#18) DE Robert Ayers (2) and
2009 3rd (#84) and
QB Kyle Orton (2)

 

Single Picks Traded for Single Picks (Date = Year of Pick)


     There was one instance of a straight pick for pick trade. In 2009, the Broncos traded their 2010 1st (#14) to the Seahawks for Seattle's 2009 2nd (#37). That pick was used on DB Alphonso Smith (1).

 

Single Picks Given for Multiple Picks (Date = Year of Pick)


     Denver gave up nine picks in order to acquire twenty-one picks. Thirteen of those new picks were used to select players. The remaining eight were used for other trades.

Date Pick Given Up Trading Partner Picks Acquired Player Acquired by Pick
2000 1st (#10) Ravens 2000 1st (#15) DB Deltha O'Neal (4) and
2000 2nd (#45) DB Kenoy Kennedy (5)
2002 4th (#117) Patriots 2002 4th (#131) DB Sam Brandon (5) and
2002 5th (#144) WR Herb Haygood (<1)
2003 3rd (#82) Panthers 2003 4th (#108) RB Quentin Griffin (2) and
2003 4th (#120) and
2003 7th (#227) DE Clint Mitchell (0)
2003 4th (#120) Patriots 2003 4th (#128) DE Bryant McNeal (0) and
2003 5th (#157) G Ben Claxton (0)
2005 1st (#25) Redskins 2005 3rd (#76) DB Karl Paymah (4) and
2006 1st (#22) and
2006 4th (#119) WR Brandon Marshall (4)
2006 1st (#22) 49ers 2006 2nd (#37) and
2006 3rd (#68)
2010 1st (#11) 49ers 2010 1st (#13) and
2010 4th (#113)
2010 1st (#13) Eagles 2010 1st (#24) and
2010 3rd (#70) and
2010 3rd (#87) WR Eric Decker (1)
2011 5th (# ??) Buccaneers 2010 7th (#225) DB Syd'quan Thompson (1) and
2010 7th (#232) DE Jammie Kirlew (0)

 

Single Pick Given for Player (Date = Year of Pick, not necessarily when player was acquired)


     Five draft picks were used to acquire veteran players. Unfortunately, none of the players were with the Broncos for more than two years -- though G Russ Hochstein may be excused from that criticism since he has only had the opportunity to be with the Broncos for two seasons.

Date Pick Trading Partner Veteran Player
2005 4th (#126) Browns DT Gerard Warren (2)
2005 5th (#160) Falcons DT Ellis Johnson (1)
2006 2nd (#37) Packers WR Javon Walker (2)
2008 6th (#180) Rams DT Jimmy Kennedy (0)
2010 7th (#231) Patriots G Russ Hochstein (2)

 

Single Pick Given for Player + Pick (Date = Year of Pick)


     In one case, Denver traded a draft pick to receive a veteran and an additional pick. This occurred when the Broncos traded their 2010 5th (#158) to the Patriots to acquire veteran DT LeKevin Smith (2) and the Patriots' 2010 7th (#231).

Multiple Picks Given for Single Pick (Date = Year of Pick)


      Denver gave up twenty-six picks (some of them obtained through other trades) to acquire eleven new picks. Ten of those new picks were used to acquire college players. Two of those players failed to make the roster. Three more played for just a single year.

Date Picks Given Up Trading Partner Pick Acquired Player Acquired by Pick
2000 6th (#175) and
2000 7th (#231) Seahawks 2000 5th (#154) WR Muneer Moore (0)
2001 2nd (#58) and
2001 5th (#155) Bills 2001 2nd (#51) DE Paul Toviessi (0)
2001 7th (#215) and
2001 7th (#226) and
2001 7th (#255) Falcons 2002 4th (#112)
2002 4th (#112) and
2002 5th (#155) Ravens 2002 3rd (#96) DE Dorsett Davis (1)
2006 1st (#15) and
2006 3rd (#68) Rams 2006 1st (#11) QB Jay Cutler (3)
2007 1st (#21) and
2007 3rd (#86) and
2007 6th (#198) Jaguars 2007 1st (#17) DE Jarvis Moss (4)
2007 6th (#176) and
2007 7th (#233) and
2008 3rd (#73) Vikings 2007 4th (#121) DE Marcus Thomas (4)
2009 5th (#149) and
2009 6th (#185) Ravens 2009 5th (#141) WR Kenny McKinley (1)
2009 7th (#235) and
2010 5th (#146) Lions 2009 6th (#174) QB Tom Brandstater (1)
2010 1st (#24) and
2010 4th (#113) Patriots 2010 1st (#22) WR Demaryius Thomas (1)
2010 2nd (#43) and
2010 3rd (#70) and
2010 4th (#114) Ravens 2010 1st (#25) QB Tim Tebow (1)

 

Multiple Picks for Multiple Picks (Date = Year of Pick)


     This category is similar to a pick for pick category since two picks were traded to acquire two picks. In 2009, Denver traded their 2009 3rd (#79) and 2009 3rd (#84) to the Steelers to acquire Pittsburgh's 2009 2nd (#64) and their 2009 4th (#132). The 2nd round pick was used to select TE Richard Quinn (2). The 4th was used to select G Seth Olsen (1).

Multiple Picks Given for Player (Date = Year of Pick)


     There was one instance of Denver trading multiple picks to acquire a veteran player. DB Billy Jenkins (2) was acquired from the Ram in exchange for Denver's 2000 5th (#139) and 2001 5th (#154).

Three Team Trades


     On three occasions, Denver worked out a trade scenario that involved two other teams. In 2006, the Broncos, Falcons and Jets worked a deal. The Jets ended up with 2006 1st (#29). The Falcons ended up with 2006 1st (#15) and 2006 3rd (#93) -- both picks were subsequently traded to the Rams -- and DT John Abraham from the Jets. The Broncos ended up with 2007 4th (#121) -- which had originally come from the Vikings.

Also in 2006, the Broncos, Falcons and Redskins entered into  deal. Broncos WR Ashley Lelie ended up with the Falcons and the Broncos ended up with 2007 3rd (#70) and 2008 4th (#119). The 3rd round pick became T Ryan Harris (4) and the 4th round pick became DB Jack Williams (1). 

In 2010, the Broncos, Lions and Eagles worked a deal. The Lions ended up with Broncos TE Tony Scheffler (4). The Eagles ended up with 2010 7th (#220). The Broncos ended up with 2010 5th (#137) which they used to select DB Perrish Cox (1).

A Trade That Doesn't Quite Add Up

     It was reported that in 2001, Denver traded Henri Crockett to the Falcons for a 2002 conditional pick which turned into 2002 7th (#228) that the Broncos used to select DB Chris Young (2). The problem is that there is no record of Denver ever having rights to Crockett. Atlanta drafted Crockett in 1997, then traded him to Minnesota in 2002. For this reason, this trade is not included in the overall count of deals enacted by Denver during this period.

A Summary of Players Acquired Through Draft Trades


     There were forty-five players acquired through draft related trades from 2000 to 2010. The breakdown in longevity for these players is not encouraging. No player was (or currently is) with the Broncos for longer than seven years. The numbers look like this:

Years on Team # of Players Years on Team # of Players
7 2 3 2
6 0 2 9
5 3 1 8
4 7 0 8



     Eight of the players  acquired (or 18%) did not make the roster. Sixteen of the players acquired (or 36%) were not with the team for longer than a year. If we eliminate the six players acquired in 2010, the numbers become seven out of thirty-nine who did not make the roster (18%) and ten out of thirty-nine (26%) who were with Denver for one year or less. In terms of players who remained with the team for no more than two years, the numbers become 25 out of 45 (56%). If we remove the 2009 and 2010 numbers from that figure -- since they could have only been with the team for two years or less -- we find that 11 out of 31 (35%) of the players were on the roster for no more than two years. These numbers do not speak well of the choices made by the Broncos during the last decade.

Player Year Acquired By Player Year Acquired by
DB Billy Jenkins (2) 2000 as veteran WR Brandon Marshall (4) 2006 4th (#119)
DB Deltha O'Neal (4) 2000 1st (#15) DE Jarvis Moss (4) 2007 1st (#17)
DB Kenoy Kennedy (5) 2000 2nd (#45) T Ryan Harris (4) 2007 3rd (#70)
WR Muneer Moore (0) 2000 5th (#154) DE Marcus Thomas (4) 2007 4th (#141)
RB Mike Anderson (5) 2000 6th (#189) DT Jimmy Kennedy (0) 2008 as veteran
DE Paul Toviessi (0) 2001 2nd (#51) DB Jack Williams (1) 2008 4th (#119)
G Ben Hamilton (7) 2001 4th (#113) RB Ryan Torain (1) 2008 5th (#139)
DE Dorsett Davis (1) 2002 3rd (#96) LB Spencer Larsen (3) 2008 6th (#183)
DB Sam Brandon (5) 2002 4th (#131) RB Peyton Hillis (2) 2008 7th (#227)
WR Herb Haygood (<1) 2002 5th (#144) G Russ Hochstein (2) 2009 as veteran
RB Quentin Griffin (2) 2003 4th (#108) DT LeKevin Smith (2) 2009 as veteran
DE Bryant McNeal (0) 2003 4th (#128) DE Robert Ayers (2) 2009 1st (#18)
G Ben Claxton (0) 2003 5th (#157) DB Alphonso Smith (1) 2009 2nd (#37)
DE Clint Mitchell (0) 2003 7th (#227) TE Richard Quinn (2) 2009 2nd (#64)
LB D. J. Williams (7) 2004 1st (#17) G Seth Olsen (0) 2009 4th (#132)
RB Tatum Bell (4) 2004 2nd (#41) WR Kenny McKinley (1) 2009 5th (#141)
WR Triandos Luke (1) 2004 6th (#171) QB Tom Brandstater (1) 2009 6th (#174)
DT Gerard Warren (2) 2005 as veteran WR Demaryius Thomas (1) 2010 1st (#22)
DT Ellis Johnson (1) 2005 as veteran QB Tim Tebow (1) 2010 1st (#25)
DB Karl Paymah (4) 2005 3rd (#76) WR Eric Decker (1) 2010 3rd (#87)
WR Javon Walker (2) 2006 as veteran DB Perrish Cox (1) 2010 5th (#137)
QB Jay Cutler (3) 2006 1st (#11) DB Syd'quan Thompson (1) 2010 7th (#225)
DE Jammie Kirlew (0) 2010 7th (#232)

 

*****

     As with every draft-related trade in the history of the franchise, there have been some hits, some misses, and some "I really wish we hadn't done that" type trades. Let's all hope that our new front office Fox/Xanders/Elway prove to be more adept at making choices that not only bring quality players to the Broncos, but bring in players who will remain with the team for many years.