Photo: Jeffrey Beall, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons²

DeForest Buckner

Defensive Tackle, Indianapolis Colts · #99.

Player facts

Team: Indianapolis Colts
Position: Defensive Tackle
Number: 99
Born: Mar 17, 1994 (age 32)
Birthplace: Waianae, HI, USA
Height: 6' 7"
Weight: 295 lbs
College: Oregon
Experience: 11 seasons
Status: Active

Stats

Among the NFL leaders, 2026 Regular Season:

9th in sacks 4

2026 Defense

	TOT	SOLO	AST	SACK	FF	FR	YDS	PD	STF	STFYDS
Regular Season	24	8	16	4	0	1	0	2	2.5	5
Last 5 Games	24	8	16	4	0	1	0	2	2.5	0
Career	676	394	282	75.5	9	11	38	30	74	105

Recent games

			Tackles				Fumbles		Interceptions
Date	Opponent	Result	TOT	SOLO	AST	SACK	FF	FR	INT	YDS	AVG	TD	LNG	PD	KB
Sun, Oct 11	@ PIT	L 34-22	6	3	3	1	0	0	0	0	0.0	0	0	0	0
Sun, Oct 4	vs WSH	W 30-13	4	2	2	0	0	0	0	0	0.0	0	0	1	0
Sun, Sep 27	vs HOU	W 19-17	7	2	5	1.5	0	0	0	0	0.0	0	0	0	0
Sun, Sep 20	@ KC	L 33-30 OT	5	1	4	1	0	0	0	0	0.0	0	0	1	0
Sun, Sep 13	vs BAL	L 41-23	2	0	2	0.5	0	1	0	0	0.0	0	0	0	0

Last 5 games. Click a game for its box score.

About

DeForest George Buckner (born March 17, 1994) is an American professional football defensive tackle for the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Oregon Ducks, and was selected by the San Francisco 49ers in the first round of the 2016 NFL draft. With the 49ers, Buckner made a Pro Bowl and was a second-team All-Pro selection in 2019. With the Colts, he was selected to the first-team All Pro in 2020 and made the Pro Bowl in 2021 and 2023.

From Wikipedia’s article on DeForest Buckner, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.¹

Background

Early life

Buckner was born to a Samoan mother and an African American father. He attended Punahou School in Honolulu, Hawaii, where he was rated as a four-star recruit. Buckner also was a teammate of Kaʻimi Fairbairn, currently the kicker of the Houston Texans. In January 2012, Buckner committed to the University of Oregon to play college football. Buckner also played basketball in high school. He was the Hawaii Gatorade Player of the Year in basketball in 2012.

College career

Buckner played in all 13 games as a true freshman in 2012, making two starts. He finished his freshman season with 29 tackles, 2.5 for a loss, and 1.0 sack. As a sophomore in 2013, Buckner started eight of 13 games, recording 39 tackles, 3.5 for a loss, and 2.5 sacks. As a junior in 2014, he finished the year with 81 tackles, 13 for a loss, and 4.0 sacks. Buckner was considered a possible first-round pick in the NFL draft but chose to return for his senior season to graduate and improve his draft stock. As a senior in 2015, Buckner improved even further, achieving career highs in tackles with 83, tackles for loss with 17, and sacks with 10.5.

Buckner was voted the 2015 Pac-12 Conference Defensive Player of the Year by the Pac-12 coaches, joining Haloti Ngata as the second Oregon Duck to ever win the award. He was awarded the Morris Trophy for best Pac-12 defensive lineman (voted on by opposing players) and was named a first-team All-American. Following his senior season, Buckner officially announced he would enter the 2016 NFL draft. He was considered one of the top-ranked defensive ends in the draft.