The 49ers turned their attention to the Keenan Allen trade after initially focusing on Josh Downs

The 49ers made a trade for wide receiver Keenan Allen on Tuesday, but he wasn’t the only Colts wide receiver on their radar before the trade deadline.

During a Thursday appearance on KNBR, general manager John Lynch said the team turned its attention to Allen after initially targeting Josh Downs as an addition to their receiver room. Lynch said head coach Kyle Shanahan brought up Allen while watching film on Downs and that conversations with the Colts began before they landed defensive tackle DeForest Buckner in an earlier deal with Indianapolis.

“We kind of focused on Josh Downs optional that we’d be interested,” Lynch said, via 49ersWebzone.com. “And Kyle and I are kind of keeping an eye on Josh, and in the process, Kyle says, ‘Dude, what about Keenan?’ And I was like, ‘You know, we hadn’t thought about this much, but let me ask about this.’ And so, a conversation started about two and a half weeks ago, actually, when the DeForest talks (took place). “Would he?” And it’s always fluid, and at a certain point, they didn’t want to give up on Keenan. It wasn’t going to be on the table, but we continued to communicate and eventually we got it.

The 49ers sent a 2027 sixth-round pick to the Colts for Allen. Downs and a 2027 seventh-round pick were ultimately traded to the Chiefs for 2027 fourth- and fifth-round picks.