DeForest Buckner has been the best interior lineman in the league through four games according to Pro Football Focus. Not the best on the 49ers, the best in the entire NFL.
At 0-4, the idea that anybody on the 49ers is playing at that level is hard to imagine, but Buckner has been an unblockable monster to start the season, and is looking like the player the 49ers hoped they’d drafted with the seventh overall pick in 2016. Buckner shined again on Sunday vs. the Cardinals, pressuring Carson Palmer six times while earning his first sack of the season, and should’ve had a second in overtime if not for the 49ers accepting a holding penalty. He also made two run stops behind the line of scrimmage.
Like Arik Armstead before him and Solomon Thomas after, Buckner’s most enticing quality coming out of college was his versatility. At 6-foot-7, 300 pounds, Buckner has both the size and quickness to play almost anywhere on the defensive line, and is already showing a rare ability to be a dominant force both as a pass rusher and in the run game.
Buckner is the only interior lineman in the NFL with an 88 or higher grade in both run defense and pass rush, ranking fourth and third respectively, making him the rare lineman that is capable of having an impact on every play. Buckner is both able to overpower lineman with his size and strength, or use his quickness to get past less athletic guards with relative ease. Look how he bursts past the offensive guard here with what is becoming a signature swim move.
A perfect example of DeForest Buckner’s season so far. Extremely effective but a split second too late. #49ers pic.twitter.com/eAMkpl5qSE
— Rob Lowder (@Rob_Lowder) October 1, 2017
Here Buckner uses the same move and also shows his power, using his long arms to part the two lineman in front of him with seemingly minimal effort. You can start to see how Buckner already has 22 QB pressures so far this season, the most in the NFL for interior defenders.
DeForest Buckner’s first sack of the 2017 season. #49ers pic.twitter.com/0DPPDkQhRM
— Rob Lowder (@Rob_Lowder) October 1, 2017
Buckner against the run is just as impressive. Watch here how he slides to nose tackle pre snap, stays home and makes the tackle.
DeForest Buckner uses his hands & doesn't get out-leveraged on the zone play. Makes the tackle! #49ers pic.twitter.com/Thvrqf3zQ8
— DLineVids (@DLineVids) September 25, 2017
Here’s a similar play with Buckner engaging and then tossing the lineman aside before making the tackle. He just makes everything look so easy.
DeForest Buckner is very good along the interior. He starts at 3T, uses L arm perfectly, flows play side, sheds, and makes the tackle. pic.twitter.com/gYscnbo1Ui
— Oscar Aparicio (@BetterRivals) September 13, 2017
Buckner showed these type of flashes during his rookie year, where he looked ahead of Armstead (the first round pick in the previous draft) almost immediately. But now Buckner is looking like a force, and if Reuben Foster is all he’s cracked up to be, the 49ers might’ve hit big on two of the best young defensive players in the NFL, a year after trotting out one of the worst units in recent memory.
“Buckner is on his way to the Pro Bowl I’ll say that right now,” 49ers broadcaster Tim Ryan told Murph & Mac on Monday. “Wouldn’t shock me if he’s an (All-Pro). He’s ripping double teams apart. The guy is a freaking locomotive. When he hits you it’s like a train splattering a pile.
“The way that guy moves around on his feet and what he’s doing with his hands and getting violent. Pass rushers are taught you’ve got to swipe the hands, you’ve got to get them down. When DeForest Buckner takes guys down the middle he’s not swiping the hands down, he’s forklifting the arms over the guy’s head and that guy is on a retreat into the quarterback’s lap.”
Just a quarter into the season, Buckner still has a long way to go before we can consider him a bonafide star. As of now, however, he’s been the most impressive player on the team in 2017, and at just 23 years old, is the 49ers most exciting interior lineman since Justin Smith. If both Armstead and Thomas end up reaching anywhere close to their potential, the 49ers’ defensive front could be scary for years to come.