Days 'Til Colts Kickoff: No. 99 DeForest Buckner

It's not often that the Indianapolis Colts have taken a swing for the fences in recent years, but one of the few examples of them doing so brought great results.

During the 2020 offseason, the Colts traded their first-round pick (No. 13 overall) to the San Francisco 49ers in exchange for defensive tackle DeForest Buckner, who was coming off of a Pro Bowl and Second-Team All-Pro nod in his previous two years. Upon joining the Colts, Buckner then became the second-highest-paid defensive tackle in the NFL by signing a four-year, $84 million contract extension.

It was the Colts investing in a proven commodity who they could build their defense around for the future, and since that day, the defensive side of the ball has been pretty solid, finishing second and 10th in the NFL against the run, respectively, in his first two years in Indy.

Buckner originally came into the league as the seventh-overall pick in the 2016 NFL Draft by the 49ers, where he quickly established himself as one of the NFL's premier interior defenders.

Throughout his career, Buckner has started 109-of-112 games, totaling 463 tackles (69 for loss), 53.0 sacks, 140 quarterback hits, 7 forced fumbles, 9 fumbles recovered, 20 pass breakups, 1 safety, and 1 defensive touchdown

In his seven seasons, Pro Football Focus has graded Buckner as "above average" twice, "high quality" four times, and "elite" once. He's been named to one First-Team All-Pro Team, one Second-Team All-Pro, and two Pro Bowls.

Since joining the Colts, Buckner is the team's leader in sacks with 24.5, which is 14.5 more than the next closest, Kwity Paye (10.0). He also leads in tackles for loss with 31.

Under the Colts' previous defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus, the Colts knew that the three-technique defensive tackle spot was the most critical to their system, general manager Chris Ballard saying that it "drives" the defense. Since acquiring Buckner to fill that void, they've seen a terrific return on investment as a playmaker and leader for the entire team, and Buckner has proven to be just as important in current coordinator Gus Bradley's scheme.

Leading into the 2023 offseason following a tumultuous previous year and a half for the Colts, there were rumors about Buckner potentially wanting out and seeking a trade. He addressed those rumors during the offseason program and squashed them, once and for all.

“I had a conversation with (Chris) Ballard at the end of the season," Buckner said. "It was just a great conversation about – obviously, things didn’t go the way we wanted last year and everything. We just had a conversation – him just saying, ‘Trust me.’ We have a great relationship.

"There was never any talks about me being traded, being released, or any of that," Buckner continued. "It’s the offseason. People like to make headlines, clickbait, and all of that kind of stuff so I just thought it was funny... I sent out a little tweet letting people know I wasn’t going anywhere.”

The Colts can feel validated about trading a top-15 draft pick for a player who has been a leader on and off the field, produced at a high level, and bought into the program.