Well, that didn't take long.
One day after moving up to draft Sammy Watkins, the Buffalo Bills traded Stevie Johnson to the San Francisco 49ersfor a mid-round pick in the 2015 NFL Draft. The move isn't a blockbuster, but it's chock full of fantasy implications for both teams.
Let's start off in Buffalo, where Watkins' stock just went up. He was considered the best wideout in the 2014 class, and the Bills will look to him to become a No. 1 wideout sooner than later. That's not to suggest he'll be this year's Keenan Allen, but he should see more than his share of targets and will be selected as a No. 3 fantasy wideout in re-drafts. Mike Williams, who figures to start opposite the rookie, will be more of a late-rounder. Robert Woods will also have some late-round appeal.
EJ Manuel, who gains a major playmaker in Watkins, is on the radar as a deep sleeper in larger leagues.
Now let's move to San Francisco, where the impact is bigger. Johnson will move into the slot and becomes the fourth option (at best) in the pass attack, making him almost undraftable in standard scoring formats. Michael Crabtree remains a solid option, but I've dropped him down a few spots at the wide receiver position. Anquan Boldin, who finished in the top 20 in fantasy points among wideouts last season, now has almost no chance to duplicate his 2013 totals. In fact, I see him as a WR4 at this point.
The big winner here is Colin Kaepernick, who now has one heck of a nice arsenal of weapons entering a contract year. Besides Crabtree, Boldin and Johnson, he also has Vernon Davis at tight end and Frank Gore in the backfield. If the quarterback position wasn't so deep, I would rank him among the five-best players at his position.
Michael Fabiano is an award-winning fantasy football analyst on NFL.com and NFL Network and a member of the Fantasy Sports Writers Association (FSWA) Hall of Fame. Have a burning question on anything fantasy related? Tweet it to _**@MichaelFabiano**_ or send a question via **Facebook**!
