List and rankings season will be over soon with a few NFL training camps already underway, but before football is fully back, Pro Football Network put out its list of the top 100 players entering the 2024 season, which included just one member of the Indianapolis Colts.
Coming in at No. 100 on this list was defensive tackle DeForest Buckner.
“One of the most effective interior defenders of his generation, DeForest Buckner put up 52 sacks over the past five seasons; only Aaron Donald had more among DTs. Buckner, Myles Garrett, and Chris Jones are the NFL’s only players with at least seven sacks in each of the last six years. Buckner also led all defenders with seven batted passes in 2023.”
Buckner has been a consistent force, especially as a pass rusher throughout his career and since he joined the Colts in 2020. Since that first season with Indianapolis, Buckner has averaged nearly 54 pressures per season and recorded at least seven sacks, including eight in each of the last two years.
In 2023, Buckner had the fourth-best pass rush grade from PFF among all interior defenders, while also ranking seventh in pass-rush win rate and 11th in run stop rate as well.
This offseason, the Colts would sign Buckner to a two-year extension worth $46 million that will keep him in Indianapolis through the 2026 season. Buckner now ranks eighth among his position group in average annual contract value.
“DeForest has been the epitome of what it means to be a Colt the last four years,” GM Chris Ballard said in a statement released by the team following the extension. “As one of the premier defensive tackles in the league, he is a destructive force on our defensive line. DeForest is one of the pillars of our locker room. His hard work, consistency, and approach to the game are vital to the success of our team.”
Alongside of Buckner, the Colts have built a very deep defensive line rotation, with eight or nine players that they believe they can rely on regularly.
For Buckner, this depth will help keep him fresh, it can wear down the offensive line, and potentially create more one-on-one matchups with the offense not able to solely focus in on Buckner on every snap.
“I think it’ll just be a big problem for other teams,” said Kwity Paye about the Colts’ defensive front depth. “You know, like you see teams that make it far in the playoffs, the Chiefs, the 49ers, the Eagles, teams like that where they just have a second D-line that could be a first D-line anywhere else.
“So that’s kind of like, I feel like that’s what we’re trying to build here. There’s no dropoff. As soon as the second D-line coming, the O-line doesn’t have rest, like the O-line doesn’t have the chance to regroup for the first team coming in. So for us, I mean, it’s going to be great. So for us, I mean, it’s going to be great.”