Deforest Buckner

Career StatsA

Year	Team	GP	Sacks	Tkl	TFL
Career		151	71.5	652	71.5
2025		10	4.0	47	7
2024		12	6.5	61	7.5
2023		17

Current Contract

Contract Value Index (CVI)

This extension represents a fair deal that slightly favors Indianapolis, with Buckner earning a solid B CVI for a contract that properly values his elite interior presence. At $23M per year, the Colts are paying top-tier defensive tackle money for a player who consistently delivers Pro Bowl-caliber production, anchoring one of the league's most underrated defensive fronts with his combination of pass rush and run-stopping ability. The two-year structure works perfectly for both sides — Buckner, now 30, secures massive guaranteed money ($43.3M) while the Colts avoid the risk of a lengthy deal for a player entering his thirties. The $43.3M guaranteed figure provides Buckner with elite-level security typically reserved for franchise cornerstones, reflecting his irreplaceable value to Indianapolis's defensive scheme. While the AAV places him among the highest-paid interior linemen, Buckner's consistent double-digit pressure rates and ability to command double-teams justify the premium. For a Colts team building around Anthony Richardson, locking up their defensive anchor through his age-31 season provides crucial stability on that side of the ball without the long-term salary cap complications that often accompany deals of this magnitude.

Performance Analysis

DeForest Buckner, the former 7th overall pick out of Oregon who has been one of the NFL's most consistently dominant interior defensive linemen for a decade, continues to anchor the Indianapolis Colts' defensive front with the kind of authoritative presence that separates true franchise cornerstones from complementary pieces. Now in his tenth NFL season with 151 career games of elite production behind him, Buckner earns an A performance grade — a reflection not just of his current output but of a sustained body of work that has made him one of the most decorated interior defenders of his generation. His season trend tells the story of an elite player managing the natural arc of a long career: an A+ in 2023, an A in 2024, and an A- in 2025 — a slight softening, yes, but one that still places him comfortably among the game's best at his position. Statistically, Buckner remains a force that offensive coordinators must scheme around every single week. His tackles-per-game rate of 4.70 is not only elite by NFL standards — where the benchmark sits at 3.65 — it nearly doubles the league average of 2.30, underscoring his uncanny ability to shed blocks and close on ball carriers despite playing one of the most physically demanding positions on the field. His tackles-for-loss rate of 0.70 per game similarly eclipses the elite threshold of 0.65, a testament to his explosive first step and football IQ in diagnosing run plays before they develop. His sack rate of 0.40 per game trails just slightly behind the elite marker of 0.47 but still sits nearly double the NFL average of 0.21, and at 32, the primary area to watch is whether his pass-rush production can sustain that above-average level as opposing offenses increasingly double-team him with urgency. Looking ahead, Buckner is squarely in the twilight chapter of a Hall-of-Fame-caliber career, and the question is less about whether he can still play at a high level — he clearly can — and more about how long he can maintain this output against the inevitable physical toll of playing interior defensive line at the NFL's highest intensity. If the Colts continue to build a strong supporting cast around him, he can serve as a legitimate anchor and locker-room leader through the back half of his contract. Watch for whether Indianapolis leverages his veteran savvy in more schematic ways to keep his snap count manageable while preserving the elite production that still defines his legacy.