Brandon Lloyd Trade: Fantasy Football Effect

A Brandon Lloyd trade happened Monday between the Denver Broncos and St. Louis Rams. But hey, none of those two teams actually matter. The only team that matters is your fantasy team, which is still in the hunt for a league championship.

If you have Brandon Lloyd on your fantasy team, the upgrade is instant. First, he's not playing wide receiver amid Denver's miserable quarterback situation. And Tim Tebow is not particularly known as a stellar passer, so it might have even gotten worse.

That's not to say that Sam Bradford hasn't struggled. But the second-year quarterback has plenty of upside and is a purer passer. And now he has a dynamic, 6-foot, 188-pound receiver as a weapon.

It was one huge hole in the Rams offense, and you can bet that Bradford will soon begin to take advantage. Lloyd has 19 receptions in four games for an average of 14.9 yards per catch. No touchdowns, which is troubling, but he's always a threat to break open something big.

The move also reunites Lloyd with Josh McDaniels, now St. Louis' offensive coordinator who was the head coach of the Broncos last year. Lloyd had his breakout season under McDaniels in 2010, catching 77 balls for 1,448 yards -- an astounding 18.8-yard average -- and 11 touchdowns.

This won't be much of a transition for Lloyd; he already knows the Rams' offense. And despite Bradford's struggles, the Rams still throw the ball on nearly two-thirds of their offensive snaps, according to Pro Football Focus. They are the league's third-heaviest passing team, but they rank 25th in the NFL in passing yards.

Lloyd immediately becomes the Rams' No. 1 option, and Bradford should target him often, helping even out those two numbers.

How it affects other fantasy options on the Rams? Well, the Bradford upgrade is also obvious, but that doesn't mean you should be running out and picking him up off the waiver wire this week. He still has a lot to prove off those shaky numbers.

The other player who's most affected is Rams running back Stephen Jackson. Because of the low amount of touches he's been given thus far with the Rams' pass-heavy attack, he's still not much more than a solid No. 2 running back. But he's done well with his opportunities -- 5.4 yards per carry -- and perhaps Lloyd will open the run game up even more with his arrival.