The San Francisco 49ers made a splash this week with the trade for Indianapolis Colts defensive tackle DeForest Buckner, six years after the two sides made the same move back in 2020.
Buckner, now 32, is still a productive defensive tackle, having 31 tackles, 20 pressures, and four sacks this year. Buckner is three years removed from his last Pro Bowl, but he’s already matched his sack total from a season ago and has been healthy this year, giving the 49ers depth.
Immediately, the thought is that the 49ers
can pair Buckner and Osa Odighizuwa together, giving San Francisco two quality veteran interior pass rushers. But could this deal actually help both players in a different way?
Through seven games, Buckner has the fourth-highest snap count among defensive tackles at 353. Only Jeffery Simmons (435 snaps), Jalen Carter (419 snaps), and Alim McNeill (363 snaps) have played more. Buckner has been on the field for 82 percent of Indianapolis’s defensive snaps, which would be the second-highest share of his career after his rookie season.
Who’s fifth on that list? Osa Odighizuwa, who has 346 snaps in seven games. Odighizuwa has played in 74 percent of the 49ers defensive snaps, also the second-highest rate of his career.
With a ton of younger players in the rotation, the 49ers have leaned on Odighizuwa a ton to be available this season. He’s still posted 21 pressures, good for 10th among interior defensive linemen.
Where this move could really help both players is allowing San Francisco to rotate more, as they now have another body in the defensive tackle room that can soak up a good number of snaps. This isn’t to say that the 49ers should cut Odighizuwa or Buckner’s snaps dramatically, but having them fresh for the playoffs should be the No. 1 priority.
With Buckner in the fold, the 49ers now have him, Odighizuwa, Gracen Halton, James Thompson Jr., and Sebastian Valdez as their top current defensive tackles. CJ West could also return at some point, but there was a clear need for a defensive tackle who could take some of the load off Odighizuwa and balance out the snaps more.
We also know that the 49ers will kick in some of their edges, such as Mykel Williams or Keion White, on passing downs, spreading out the snaps even more.
But San Francisco now has two quality pass rushers on the interior that can soak up snaps and keep each other fresh. The rotation also allows for the continued development of the team’s young defensive tackles and gives the team some much-needed depth up front. Good move all around, and there could be more coming in the front seven.
