2018 Pro Bowler
Making a move like this and then signing the player to such a massive contract doesn’t come without a pedigree. Buckner certainly has that. We mentioned his career stats, but he’s been an absolute force over the past two seasons. That all started with a trip to the 2018 Pro Bowl following a season that included 12.5 sacks, 17 tackles for loss and 20 quarterback hits.
Buckner has been simply consistent and productive since entering the league. He may have had a down year in terms of sacks in 2019 (7.5), but that could be more due to the fact that opposing offenses had to pay more attention to him. We’ll see what the film room holds, but Buckner has the pedigree to back up this type of trade.