Paton: ‘Confidence’ in Broncos WRs Catalyzed Trinity Benson Trade

In case you’re wondering why Trinity Benson — a first-year former undrafted wide receiver, who morphed into something of a fan favorite this summer — did not crack the Denver Broncos’ final roster, why he’s no longer employed by the organization, there’s a simple answer.

“A lot of confidence,” Broncos general manager George Paton told reporters in a Tuesday press conference, referring to the team’s other receivers. “We have four that are really good. We have a really good returner, and then we’ve got some young guys in the hopper. [Wide Receiver Coach] Zach Azzanni does a great job with these guys and developing them as you can see. We have a lot of confidence in some of those young receivers.”

So much so that Paton sought and found a trade partner for Benson, who caught eight passes for 80 yards and two touchdowns across three preseason games. Establishing himself as an offensive deep threat — a poor man’s KJ Hamler — the East Central University product worked his way to starter’s snaps during training camp, and found chemistry with both Broncos quarterbacks, Teddy Bridgewater and Drew Lock.

The Detroit Lions, somewhere along the way, took notice of Benson’s skill-set. And on Tuesday morning, hours before cuts were finalized, the Lions surrendered a pair of 2022 draft picks for that skill-set: fifth- and seventh-rounders. Denver kicked in a 2023 sixth-round selection as part of the deal.

Benson was not the only Broncos wideout deemed expendable, however. The club also pink-slipped Tyrie Cleveland, Kendall Hinton, Seth Williams, and De'Mornay Pierson-El.

They head into the 2021 regular season just five deep at WR — Courtland Sutton, Jerry Jeudy, Tim Patrick, Diontae Spencer, and Hamler comprising the depth chart.

For now.

“We have five, and I think we’ll have more,” Paton said. “I think we’ll have at least three more.”