The Lions have acquired Tony Scheffler in a three-team trade that also sent linebacker Ernie Sims to the Eagles.

The move wasn’t a major one from a fantasy perspective in terms of the players involved, though getting Sims does improve the value of the Eagles defense. However, it does give Matthew Stafford another weapon in the pass attack.

It also gives opposing defenses another player to cover in the middle of the field, which should help Calvin Johnson avoid constant double and triple teams.

Scheffler is a solid pass-catching tight end who was once a viable fantasy starter during his time with the Broncos. He’ll be second on the Lions depth chart behind Brandon Pettigrew, though Scheffler could start in Week 1 if Pettigrew isn’t back from reconstructive knee surgery.

Despite a report from MLive.com that the Lions have big plans for Scheffler, it’s still hard to consider him outside of the late rounds.

As for Stafford, he now has a nice duo of tight ends in addition to Johnson and Nate Burleson in his offensive arsenal. The young quarterback also has a very favorable schedule, so his outlook for 2010 has improved.

In fact, Stafford should be a much more reliable No. 2 quarterback and occasional matchup-based starter.

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