The Indianapolis Colts' stunning Week 6 loss to the previously winless Tennessee Titans kicked off a domino effect that'll likely spread all across the league.
An opening bit of fallout was Indy firing its longtime general manager, Chris Ballard, the Monday after the loss, and it's hard to avoid the connection from that move back to Pro Bowl defensive tackle DeForest Buckner's postgame comments about the "same song and dance every year" with regard to Indianapolis' perennial achievements.
Meanwhile, the NFC West-leading San Francisco 49ers have every right to be aggressive leading up to the NFL trade deadline in November, and general manager John Lynch certainly has to be looking at Buckner as a likely trade target, should the Colts' interim GM opt to tear everything down, which seems likely.
And Buckner is just one target the Niners could go after in Indianapolis.
3 Colts trade candidates 49ers can target before NFL deadline
No. 1: DT DeForest Buckner
Lynch hard decision to trade Buckner to Indy back in 2020 still lingers, and San Francisco never truly replaced its 2016 first-round draftee in the years since.
At age 32 and in the final year of his current contract, Lynch and Co. could right a major wrong while also giving Buckner a chance to come back to a true contender again, likely sending nothing more than a mid-round pick back to Indianapolis in such a deal.
The 49ers defensive line has been a surprising strength this season despite a litany of injuries, yet adding Buckner would be the proverbial "cherry on top," turning a strength into an absolute powerhouse of a unit, poised to carry the Niners defense deep into the playoffs.
No. 2: OG Quenton Nelson
If San Francisco's D-line has played surprisingly well despite injuries, its offensive line has truly exceeded expectations despite relatively few notable moves during the offseason.
That said, there's always room to upgrade, meaning perennial Pro Bowl left guard Quenton Nelson has to be taken into consideration.
Granted, the 49ers have never invested heavily into their guard play, and second-year pro Connor Colby has outperformed expectations entering 2026 to date. As such, the Niners don't need to upgrade at left guard.
But if they did, grabbing someone like Nelson would be a Super Bowl-contending kind of move.
Yes, it'd likely be a rental-type of situation. It's hard to envision San Francisco re-signing or extending Nelson beyond when he's set to hit free agency this offseason, but in the interim, the O-line would be a mauler of a unit with Nelson and future Hall of Famer Trent Williams manning the left side.
No. 3: WR Josh Downs
Despite plenty of injury attrition at wide receiver to date, the 49ers are expecting back several of their injured wideouts in the immediate future.
From that vantage point, trading for Josh Downs doesn't make a ton of sense unless one considers his abilities as a punt-return specialist. The Niners haven't exactly produced a top-tier answer there, namely with fellow receiver Jacob Cowing, so going after a player like Downs who's averaging 8.5 yards per punt return on the year is much more sensible.
True, the 5-foot-9 pass catcher would be buried behind other more-established receivers on San Francisco's depth chart, and Downs' diminituive stature limits him to slot-only play.
Yet Downs has been productive in that role, posting at least 500 yards in each of his first three seasons, and his 289 receiving yards to date suggest he'll stay on that same trajectory. And if the 49ers continue to suffer more injuries at wide receiver, Downs would be a solid contingency plan to beef up the depth chart.
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