Denver traded linebacker Bill McKoy to Houston on July 2,…
Denver traded linebacker Bill McKoy to Houston on July 2, 1973 for the Oilers' 1974 seventh-round draft choice. Contemporary transaction records confirm the player-for-pick exchange, but the exact selection Denver ultimately exercised is not identified in the reviewed public record. McKoy never appeared in a Houston regular-season game and resurfaced with San Francisco in 1974.
Denver Broncos Received
- pick 1974 seventh round pick (selection not identified)
Tennessee Titans Received
- player Bill McKoy
Trade Analysis
The legacy row was missing the player entirely even though the transaction itself is sourceable. Pro Sports Transactions records Denver sending linebacker Bill McKoy to Houston on July 2, 1973 for a 1974 seventh-round draft choice, and its 1974 draft-trade ledger cites contemporary UPI reporting that the Oilers obtained McKoy from the Broncos in return for a seventh-round choice the following year. The exact overall selection is not identified in the reviewed ledger, so TradeVerdicts does not attach a speculative 1974 draftee to Denver's return. McKoy was an established Broncos defender when the deal occurred. Denver selected him in the fifth round of the 1970 draft, No. 115 overall. Pro Football Reference records 30 regular-season appearances for Denver from 1970 through 1972, including nine starts in 1972, when he was used at middle linebacker. Denver's official 1973 media guide also lists McKoy among the club's 1970 draft choices and documents his place on the prior roster. Houston did not turn the acquisition into regular-season production. McKoy's NFL career log contains Denver seasons from 1970 through 1972, no 1973 regular-season team entry, and then 14 games for San Francisco in 1974. That means the Oilers surrendered a seventh-round asset for a player who never appeared in a regular-season game for them. The available sources do not establish whether McKoy was released, failed to report, or otherwise left Houston before the regular season, so TradeVerdicts does not invent the mechanism. Denver's exact downstream pick value is also unresolved. Even so, the source-safe direction is clear: the Broncos recovered draft capital for a veteran they were moving on from, while Houston received zero regular-season games. Denver receives a C+ for converting McKoy into a future seventh-round choice whose exact use cannot be traced. Houston receives a D because the player produced no regular-season value for the club. Confidence is medium because the trade structure and McKoy's absence from Houston's regular-season record are well supported, while the exact draft-selection identity remains unknown.