The San Francisco 49ers swung another trade with the Indianapolis Colts on Tuesday by acquiring veteran wide receiver Keenan Allen.
The move makes sense, given how many injuries San Francisco has sustained at wide receiver, but what will the impact be on Jordan Watkins?
The second-year receiver out of Ole Miss just had the best game of his young NFL career on Sunday against the Las Vegas Raiders. He had four catches for 86 yards and a touchdown, the first of his NFL career. It's clear quarterback Brock Purdy has gained more trust in Watkins as the season has gone on, but it seems likely that Watkins will see a decreased role now that Allen is in the fold, even though it seemed like there was a chance Watkins' big game might remove the need for a trade at receiver.
49ers may be more attracted to Keenan Allen than Jordan Watkins
Allen is a veteran who is in his 14th NFL season. He's been around the block and has had some good seasons, so of course, the Niners are going to go with a proven option like him over a player like Watkins who has shown promise but does not have the track record of someone like Allen.
This season with the Colts, Allen has 40 receptions for 351 yards and a touchdown. He's been one of the top options for Indy, even amid a bad season, so he's proven that he can still get the job done even at the age of 34.
While Watkins may move down the depth chart as a result of this move, that doesn't necessarily mean we won't hear about him the rest of the season. The Niners have had so many injuries at receiver that it wouldn't shock anyone if Watkins was forced back into the spotlight due to more attrition at that position.
The hope is that both Mike Evans and Deebo Samuel will be back soon, but they're older and fairly injury-prone, so the Allen acquisition just gives the 49ers more bodies in case they lose even more guys to injury.
Christian Kirk went back on injured reserve after returning for one game, and even though Demarcus Robinson is back, the Niners could use some more firepower on offense especially if they want to be extra careful with Evans going forward.
Watkins may not be a starting receiver after the Allen trade, but he has done enough that he should still get more opportunities going forward.
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