San Francisco acquired Randy Gregory and Denver's 2024…
San Francisco acquired Randy Gregory and Denver's 2024 seventh-round choice for the 49ers' 2024 sixth-round pick. Gregory supplied rotational pass-rush snaps during San Francisco's Super Bowl run, but the stint lasted only one season. Denver improved its draft position from the seventh to the sixth round while moving a player no longer central to its plans, giving the Broncos a small but durable value edge.
Denver Broncos Received
- pick 2024 6th round pick (207th overall subsequently traded, Michael Jerrell )
San Francisco 49ers Received
- player Randy Gregory
- pick 2024 7th round pick (232nd overall subsequently traded, Levi Drake Rodriguez )
Trade Analysis
The Exchange
In October 2023, San Francisco acquired edge defender Randy Gregory from Denver along with the Broncos' 2024 seventh-round selection. Denver received San Francisco's 2024 sixth-round pick. The structure effectively allowed the 49ers to move down one round in a future draft in exchange for adding a veteran pass rusher during a championship chase.
Denver Broncos Return
Denver had already reduced Gregory's role and chose to move on. Turning that situation into a sixth-round selection, even while attaching a seventh, recovered useful draft value and removed a player who was no longer a major part of the club's plans. The acquired sixth was later moved again, preserving its value as transaction currency rather than tying the result to one drafted player.
San Francisco 49ers Return
Gregory joined a talented defensive front and provided rotational snaps during the 2023 season and postseason. He gave San Francisco exactly the kind of veteran depth a contender can justify acquiring for a small draft-position cost. The limitation is duration: Gregory's 49ers tenure lasted only that season, so the club did not receive a multi-year contributor from the transaction.
Value in Hindsight
Both sides accomplished reasonable goals. San Francisco bought short-term defensive depth without surrendering a premium selection, and Denver improved its draft position while exiting a disappointing veteran relationship. The Broncos' advantage comes from converting a declining asset into durable draft capital rather than from a dramatic player outcome.
Final Verdict
Denver gets a B- and San Francisco a C+. The Broncos win narrowly because the sixth-round asset outlasted Gregory's brief 49ers tenure. San Francisco's cost was low and Gregory contributed to a Super Bowl run, so this remains a modest edge rather than a major loss.