Grade the trade: 49ers get some veteran receiver help by trading Colts for Keenan Allen

The San Francisco 49ers are winning in spite of numerous injuries, especially at the receiver position.

The 49ers got some help at receiver before the trade deadline without giving up too much.

San Francisco went and got veteran Keenan Allen from the Indianapolis Colts, who have been one of the major sellers before the deadline. The cost was a 2027 sixth-round pick to the Colts, according to Tom Pelissero of The Ringer.

The 49ers have been without Ricky Pearsall, De'Zhaun Stribling and Demarcus Robinson for most of the season, and Mike Evand and Deebo Samuel have also missed recent games. The 49ers were hoping to get No. 1 receiver Evans back after the bye but he wasn't ready, and that was a sign that they needed some depth at receiver for the rest of the season.

Allen isn't still the star he was with the Chargers earlier in his career, but he still knows how to get open and command targets. He had 40 catches for 351 yards in eight games with the Colts. At age 34, he has played in many offensive schemes and presumably should be able to contribute quickly for the 49ers. There weren't many star receivers available at the trade deadline so the 49ers decided on a value option for depth. It's not a splashy move but it made complete sense.

Once the Colts decided to start selling, it didn't make much sense to hold onto a solid receiver near the end of his career.

The Colts got the selling spree going by trading guard Quenton Nelson and defensive tackle DeForest Buckner. While they had other big pieces who were reportedly on the block, grabbing a sixth-round pick for Allen was an obvious move.

That sixth-round pick is very unlikely to move the needle too much on what is going to be a long Colts rebuild, but it was fine value for a player the Colts had no more use for in a lost season.