DeForest Buckner
Indianapolis ColtsModel Score
How good he is at what he is supposed to be doing, out of 100. Not a projection of what he will do next, and not a read on his contract. Median is about 70, and a 95 is rare. How it is built →
Season Stats · 10 games
Draft & College
He went about where consensus had him.
Comps
STM Take
Four Pro Bowls plus five straight tier 1-2 STTM finishes (all top-13) puts Buckner in the small group of interior defenders with consistent elite production across a decade. The Oregon Pac-12 pedigree plus the 7th overall draft slot plus the trade to Indianapolis gives him the structural anchor résumé. The 2026 question is whether Buckner earns his fifth Pro Bowl plus holds tier 1 territory or whether the late-prime structural decline reasserts.
Buckner came out of Oregon as the San Francisco 49ers' 1st-round pick (7th overall) in 2016 after winning the 2015 Morris Trophy. He was traded to the Indianapolis Colts in 2020 for a 1st-round pick. He has made four Pro Bowls (2019, 2020, 2022, 2023) across his career. His STTM career runs tier 2 (#10) in 2021, tier 1 (#5) in 2022, tier 1 (#2) in 2023, tier 2 (#13) in 2024, and tier 1 (#4) in 2025.
Strengths
- Four Pro Bowls (2019, 2020, 2022, 2023) plus five straight tier 1-2 STTM finishes establishes a top-15 interior defender résumé.
- 10 years of NFL starter reps at age 31 across two systems with continued top-13 STTM production gives him the rare late-prime durability.
Concerns
- Age 31 plus 10 years of interior-line wear puts the structural late-career decline question on every 2027 projection.
- Indianapolis's broader defensive identity around the multi-year offensive rebuild compresses the structural support around Buckner.
What to watch: Whether Buckner earns his fifth Pro Bowl in 2026 plus holds tier 1 (top 10), the threshold for confirming the late-prime ceiling is sustained.