Fantasy Football Implications of the Skyy Moore and Devaughn Vele Trades

Two wide receiver trades took place Wednesday evening, as the 49ers acquired Skyy Moore from the Chiefs, and the Saints traded for Devaughn Vele from the Broncos. These moves seem very minor at first glance, but a group of dominos can't fall without the first one going down, so it's worth investigating a little further.

Let's look at both trades, why each team made their respective move, and what it means in fantasy football for both the traded players and those on the team who now have more or less competition for snaps.

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Skyy Moore to the San Francisco 49ers

• 49ers get Moore and a seventh-round pick
• Chiefs get a sixth-round pick

Moore was moved for as little draft capital as possible, as the teams just swapped sixth- and seventh-round picks in favor of Kansas City. Moore was a candidate to be cut by the end of the preseason, so this preemptively clears a bit of a logjam at receiver while giving KC something back in return.

Even with Rashee Rice likely to miss around four games with suspension, Moore has never been able to find real footing after entering the league as a second-round pick, topping out at 22 receptions, 250 yards, and one touchdown as his career highs. He played just six games last season and didn't catch a pass.

Rice is likely to be around most of the season, Xavier Worthy is entering his second year, and Marquise Brown is back after missing most of 2024; the receiving group is again crowded, and Moore was going to be relegated to special teams work if he made the roster at all. They can get similar production from any other receiver down the depth chart who will now battle for the last WR spots.

San Francisco is hurting at receiver, the reason they made this move for a guy who seemingly won't make a major impact. Brandon Aiyuk will begin the season on IR while returning from a major knee injury suffered last season, and reports say he could return around Week 6, though that's far from a guarantee. He might need some time to get up to speed once he does return, so I'm not counting on Aiyuk to look anything like himself until the second half of the year (at least).

Deebo Samuel Sr. was traded to Washington, so the other guys likely taking the starting spots in the meantime are Ricky Pearsall, a first-round pick last year, and Jauan Jennings, who has shown flashes of high-level play while operating as San Francisco's WR3. They should both be capable, but it seems like a big downgrade on paper from a healthy Aiyuk and Samuel the past few seasons.

Demarcus Robinson was signed in the offseason, but it was announced that he will be suspended for the first three weeks after picking up a DUI late last year. With so many guys out or limited (Jennings has been dealing with his own injury), San Fran needed reinforcements, so they made the low-risk, low-reward move for Moore.

Fantasy Implications

Moore is very unlikely to factor into the gameplan, especially joining the team so late. He could work as a kick returner and maybe get a few screens or handoffs with the ever-creative Kyle Shanahan drawing up plays, but it would be a major upset if he were to be on the fantasy radar at any time this season.

Jennings is the best bet for production right away among the 49er receivers, as he has shown it before. Pearsall is highly regarded as a first-round pick, and he could produce from the jump after getting a full offseason and playing in Week 1; remember, last year he started the season on IR because he got shot while being mugged in broad daylight.

I like Aiyuk as a lottery ticket in fantasy. He will have to sit in your IR spot for a while if you have one, but he has the upside of returning as a WR1 eventually, and that's a valuable player to draft with one of your last picks or grab for $1 late in an auction. Maybe he doesn't make a real impact while working his way back, but you're not missing out on anything based on his draft status.

On the Kansas City side of things, Rice and Worthy are interesting fantasy players because they each have the chance to be the top guy for Patrick Mahomes. Both are mid-round fantasy picks, and Rice's pending suspension drops his value a bit, but Rice was really good for three weeks last season before going down, and he might be the most likely player on the team to emerge as their WR1.

Devaughn Vele to the New Orleans Saints

• Saints get Vele
• Broncos get a fourth-round pick and a seventh-round pick

Vele was a seventh-round pick last year, so this is nice value to flip him for a seventh in 2027 while also picking up a fourth rounder next year. Vele showed a little bit as a rookie, catching 41 passes for 475 yards and three touchdowns.

It is telling that the Broncos were willing to ship him off, though, as their depth chart at wide receiver is hardly stacked. Courtland Sutton is the clear top guy, but Troy Franklin, a fourth-round pick in 2024, was outplayed by Vele in their rookie season, and Marvin Mims has never found consistent footing after being a second-round pick in 2023 (though he still has time to develop).

The real winner here might be rookie Pat Bryant, a third-round pick. Bryant has been a standout in the preseason, first catching two passes for 21 yards in Week 1 and then turning four receptions into 70 yards in the second game. If the team sees Bryant as a guy who can make an impact right away, that made Vele a bit expendable, and the team capitalized on extra value by recouping the seventh-round pick they used on him and adding a fourth.

New Orleans has three receivers who are theoretical starters in Chris Olave, Rashid Shaheed, and Brandin Cooks. As noted by ESPN, though, each of those guys is listed at 6'0 or shorter, so there was room for a bigger body. Vele is listed at 6'5 and 210 pounds, a relative giant compared to his three new teammates.

I remember hearing something a number of years back that teams should build their receiver groups like a starting basketball lineup, mixing smaller guys who are faster and good in space with taller guys who can use their bodies and win in traffic. They were already heavy with guards, and this trade added a power forward/center to that group.

Fantasy Implications

Sutton is probably the only guy worth grabbing from Denver right now until we see something in the regular season from another receiver. I'm intrigued by Bryant, but he is an unknown entity and more of a guy to draft in a super-deep league or keep an eye on as a free agent. While some have hopes for Mims, I'm not looking at Denver to be a high-impact passing team, so Sutton is probably the extent of their valuable fantasy receivers.

Olave was seen as a budding star when he had a capable quarterback. He missed half of last season with injury and was less impressive when on the field without Derek Carr, averaging four catches and 50 yards per game while catching only one touchdown. Now with Spencer Rattler and Tyler Shough battling for the starting QB job, I'm expecting New Orleans to be among the worst passing teams in the league.

That has me staying away from Olave, and that means Shaheed and Cooks are off the fantasy radar. Vele could find a role, but he will take some time to get acclimated to a new system, so his early-season outlook is even cloudier. Wait until he proves he will be impactful for the Saints before counting on Vele to be relevant in fantasy football.