On the first day of the legal tampering period, the Indianapolis Colts made a splash by acquiring defensive tackle DeForest Buckner from the San Francisco 49ers in exchange for the No. 13 overall pick in the 2020 NFL draft.
As Buckner takes his place at the three-technique, he’s likely to see plenty of time working alongside the veteran Justin Houston, whose 11.0 sacks in 2019 were the most he’s recorded since the 2014 season.
Buckner is looking forward to sharing the defensive line with Houston upon his arrival.
“We’ve got a lot of talent. We’ve got a lot of great veterans like Justin Houston. I am excited to get to work with Justin,” Buckner said last week. “Dee Ford has told me nothing but amazing things about him so I am ready to pick his brain a little bit.”
Houston was a nice pickup in free agency before the 2019 season. He is in the final year of his two-year deal with the Colts but should provide the unit with a steady boost in the pass-rush department like he did in 2019.
Buckner is also looking forward to working with another Colts defender but one that is likely to be working directly behind him at the second level.
“Also the young talent at linebacker with Darius Leonard. I mean watching film – sometimes we watch film on Indy and you see that guy flying around everywhere,” Buckner said. “So I am excited to have a linebacker like him behind me. It’s going to be a lot of fun.”
Leonard has been amazing since the Colts snagged him in the second round of the 2018 draft. Despite a slow start in 2019, essentially due to injury, the All-Pro linebacker had another strong season—one that included five interceptions.
Buckner should make the entire Colts defensive better. His ability to apply consistent pressure while taking on double teams should have a massive impact for the entire defensive unit.
How much of an impact remains to be seen, but there is plenty of reason to be excited about the 26-year-old joining the defensive ranks in Indy.