49ers depth chart: Defensive tackle gets shakeup after DeForest Buckner trade

The 49ers depth chart on the defensive interior got a pretty big shakeup when DeForest Buckner was traded.

Solomon Thomas

Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

While Thomas hasn’t lived up to his status as a No. 3 overall pick, he’s still a serviceable player who could benefit from added snaps inside. Thomas isn’t an effective edge rusher, and he’s at his best using his athleticism to win on the interior. The problem for Thomas is he hasn’t won enough to justify playing him with regularity. He’s seen his starts go from 12, to 13, to 3 last year. And his snap count has plummeted from 696 as a rookie to just 424 in 2019. Thomas will get plenty of opportunities to carve out a significant role on the defensive line, but it’s going to take a pretty big improvement for him to be more than a rotational player getting around 40 percent of the snaps.