DeForest Buckner has yet to prove he’s a permanent building block for the 49ers future. But goodness gracious, Buckner is getting his fair share of NFL experience this season.
According to PFF’s Jeff Deeney, Buckner’s 739 snaps lead all interior linemen in the NFL. That’s extra impressive considering Buckner missed a Week 5 against the Arizona Cardinals. There’s no questioning whether he’s in shape or can handle an NFL workload.
But the 739 snaps are also an indication that the San Francisco defense has been on the field too much this season. Jim O’Neil’s defense has seen more plays total plays from scrimmage (833) than any other team in the league. To compare, the Houston Texans have played the least amount of snaps this season with 717.
The No. 7 overall pick, Buckner is undoubtedly gaining much needed experience in 2016. But how many of the snaps have been positive for his development?
KNBR’s resident film guru Greg Cosell had this to say about Buckner Monday with Tolbert and Lund.
“Even (DeForest) Buckner hasn’t shown enough where you feel like he’s a cornerstone,” Cosell said. “He’s a rookie, so you certainly give him another offseason and another year. But he’s been up and down. He had some great plays early in the (Chicago) game where he played with great leverage and you saw the natural strength and power.
“But as the game progressed — and hey, I know it was bad weather, but sometimes you play in those games — he got right back up to playing too high and he got moved easily. That’s been an ongoing issue for him all season.”
Buckner has 28 tackles and 3 sacks on the season. Many mock drafts have the 49ers selecting Texas A&M pass rusher Myles Garrett with the No. 2 overall pick. Should that scenario happen, it would be the 49ers’s third straight time using their first pick in the draft on a front-seven player.