San Francisco 49ers general manager John Lynch discussed the team's interest in former New York Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. during a KNBR interview last week. The three-time Pro Bowl receiver didn't end up in Santa Clara. He was traded to the Cleveland Browns, who in the Giants' eyes, made a stronger offer.
New York was eying the 49ers' No. 2 overall pick and an additional first-round pick in the future. They also didn't want to give up their own No. 6 overall pick in the process. It's unknown what San Francisco actually offered for Beckham, but it was decided that the Giants' demands were too costly.
Head coach Kyle Shanahan joined the latest Adam Schefter podcast and shared his thoughts on the 49ers' attempt to acquire Beckham.
"We definitely looked into the Odell thing," Shanahan told Schefter. "John had been working on that for a few months, trying to see if something could happen. I just didn't think we had the stuff that [the Giants] wanted. It didn't work out.
"He's always a great player. I don't know how much I can talk about him because he's on another team. That would have been a great thing, but that didn't work out, and it's nice to have our second pick in the draft still."
The 49ers ended up making a strong late push for former Pittsburgh Steelers running back Le'Veon Bell, who ended up signing with the New York Jets. Shanahan and company didn't expect to pursue him, but when the opportunity presented itself, they threw their hat in the ring.
San Francisco did sign a running back in free agency — Tevin Coleman, who played his first two NFL seasons in Atlanta when Shanahan was the Falcons' offensive coordinator.
"The Le'Veon thing was very similar to the Tevin thing," Shanahan shared. "That wasn't something that we went in targeting. It kind of fell into us also. And when we realized we had the chance to get that, for something that we definitely didn't expect, we got excited.
"I think it was a little bit more of a tease, which we went through a little bit because we didn't plan to be in it. Then we got close, so we got somewhat excited; a little disappointed when it didn't work out, but we ended up with Tevin the next day. That ended very fast for us. I was very pumped to end up with Tevin."
You can listen to the entire interview with Shanahan below. The conversation starts at about the 20-minute mark.
Sean McVay reveals the Hall-of-Fame prank he played on Kliff Kingsbury.
Packers' HC Matt LaFleur discusses expectations in Year 1 in GB.
49ers' HC Kyle Shanahan talks about the No. 2 pick and how close SF was to making a major splash.
Listen: 👇https://t.co/m2HEiiC0Kg
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) April 1, 2019
