The 49ers made a trade for wide receiver Keenan Allen on Tuesday, but he wasn’t the only Colts wide receiver on their radar ahead of the trade deadline.
During a Thursday appearance on KNBR, General Manager John Lynch said that the team turned its attention to Allen after initially targeting Josh Downs as an addition to their receiver room. Lynch said that head coach Kyle Shanahan brought up Allen while watching film on Downs and conversations with the Colts began before they landed defensive tackle DeForest Buckner in an earlier deal with Indianapolis.
Advertisement
“We kind of focused on Josh Downs as an option that we’d have some interest,” Lynch said, via 49ersWebzone.com. “And Kyle and I are kind of watching Josh, and in the process, Kyle’s like, ‘Man, what about Keenan?’ And I was like, ‘You know, we hadn’t given much thought to that, but let me ask about that.’ And so, there started a conversation about two and a half weeks ago, really, when the DeForest talks [happened]. ‘Would he?’ And it’s always fluid, and at a certain time, they didn’t want to give up Keenan. It kind of wasn’t going to be on the table, but we kept communicating, and ultimately we got him.”
The 49ers sent a 2027 sixth-round pick to the Colts for Allen. Downs and a 2027 seventh-round pick were eventually traded to the Chiefs for 2027 fourth- and fifth-round picks.