DeForest Buckner spent four years at Oregon (2012-2015), was drafted #7 overall by the San Francisco 49ers, and has been one of the best interior defensive linemen in the NFL for nearly a decade. Three Pro Bowls. All-Pro honors. A cornerstone of the Indianapolis Colts defense since 2020. Buckner does not get the highlights that edge rushers get, but he has been more consistently dominant than almost any defender Oregon has produced.
2026 NFL Week 5 snapshot (historical)Buckner is back. A herniated disc in his neck ended his 2025 season and required surgery, and he was in the lineup for the 2026 opener, his 11th NFL season and the last year of his contract. Through Week 5 he has 24 tackles and 4 sacks (ESPN game log). His best day so far was Week 3 against Houston: 7 tackles and 1.5 sacks in a 19-17 win, the Colts' first of the season. In Week 4 in London he had 4 tackles and 3 quarterback hits in a 30-13 win over Washington, and ran down fellow Duck Marcus Mariota at the end of a 35-yard scramble. In Week 5 at Pittsburgh he had 6 tackles and a sack in a 34-22 loss, and Indianapolis was 2-3 through Week 5.
#7
Draft Pick
2016, SF 49ers
All-Pro
2020
Indianapolis Colts
4
Seasons at Oregon
2012-2015
Oregon Years
Buckner arrived in 2012 and played alongside
Marcus Mariota and Arik Armstead. He was part of the defensive line that helped Oregon reach the first College Football Playoff in 2014. He stayed for four years when he could have left earlier, developing into the most complete defensive lineman in the program's modern history. His senior year, he dominated the interior and cemented his status as a top-10 pick.
NFL Career
Drafted by the 49ers, traded to the Colts in 2020 for a first-round pick. That trade tells you what NFL teams think of him: San Francisco got a first-rounder back for a player they loved because Indianapolis was willing to pay that price. Three Pro Bowls, first-team All-Pro in 2020. He signed a two-year extension in 2024 that runs through 2026. A herniated disc in his neck ended his 2025 season and required surgery, and he was back in the lineup for the 2026 opener, his 11th NFL season. Buckner has been a cornerstone interior defender for a decade.
The Standard for Oregon DL
Oregon's defensive line pipeline runs through Buckner. He showed that the program could develop interior linemen who dominate at the NFL level, not just edge rushers.
Haloti Ngata came before him. Arik Armstead played alongside him. The current DL (Washington, Alexander, Tuioti, Uiagalelei) are walking the path Buckner paved.
Career Highlights
Stat
10.5 Sacks and 17 TFLs as a Senior
Buckner had 10.5 sacks and 17 tackles for loss in 2015, winning Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year. He was the second Duck to win the award, following Haloti Ngata in 2005.
Fact
From Waianae, Hawaii (Punahou School)
Born in Waianae on Oahu's west side. Attended Punahou School in Honolulu, the same school as Barack Obama. His Samoan mother and Tennessee-born father raised him with deep Hawaiian roots.
Fact
Father's Motorcycle Accident
When Buckner was 13, his father George was in a serious motorcycle accident requiring heart surgery and leaving him in a wheelchair. That event forced Buckner to mature quickly and shaped the quiet determination that defines his career.
Game
2014 CFP Semifinal: 59-20 Over Florida State
Anchored the defensive front alongside Arik Armstead as Oregon destroyed the defending national champions. The first College Football Playoff semifinal win by a Pac-12 team.
NFL
Traded for the #13 Overall Pick
The 49ers traded Buckner to the Colts in 2020 for the 13th overall pick. He signed a 4-year, $84M extension. 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan later said the trade 'sucked so bad.' Teams do not trade firsts for DTs unless those DTs are elite.
NFL
Super Bowl LIV with the 49ers
Had 6 tackles, 1 TFL, and 1.5 sacks in the 49ers' Super Bowl LIV loss to the Chiefs (31-20). His last game in San Francisco before the trade.
Stat
Career: 232 Tackles, 36 TFLs, 18 Sacks
Four-year Oregon career totals. His senior year alone (83 tackles, 17 TFL, 10.5 sacks) would be a standout career for most players.
NFL
3x Pro Bowler, First-Team All-Pro
Pro Bowl selections for the 2018, 2021 and 2023 seasons. First-Team All-Pro in 2020, when he had 9.5 sacks in his first year with the Colts.
Sources: Sports Reference, GoDucks.com, NFL.com
