49ers film room: Why DeForest Buckner is so important in Week 5 vs. Colts

San Francisco 49ers defensive tackle DeForest Buckner has been the defense’s best player in 2017. Niner Noise breaks down why he’s important in Week 5 versus the Indianapolis Colts.

There are plenty of storylines to watch in Week 5 as the San Francisco 49ers visit the Indianapolis Colts.

The Niners, winless over four contests, face off against the 1-3 Colts Sunday, and much of the attention will focus on Indianapolis running back Frank Gore, as he faces off against the squad he called home for 10 years.

But an arguably bigger story will be the impact second-year defensive tackle DeForest Buckner will have during the game.

San Francisco 49ers

Pro Football Focus currently ranks Buckner the No. 1 interior defender through four weeks, with an overall season grade of 93.2. That’s elite, and it will be up to Buckner and his supporting cast to ensure the Colts’ beleaguered offensive line continues its own struggles into Week 5.

Buckner hasn’t exactly been rewarded with lofty sack totals — he has just one on the season — but that’s not what’s important here.

Instead, the Niners will ask their best interior pass-rusher to disrupt the offensive line, opening up opportunities for San Francisco’s edge players to collapse the pocket around Colts quarterback Jacoby Brissett.

How does this happen?

In this article, we’ll take a look at the film to see exactly how the 49ers can maximize Buckner’s abilities in an attempt to shut down Indy’s passing offense.

One-on-One Matchup Favoring the 49ers

Regardless whether the Colts run 11 personnel (one tailback, one tight end, three receivers) or 12 personnel (one tailback, two tight ends, two receivers), Buckner will often find himself lining up opposite offensive guard Jeremy Vujnovich this Sunday.

Based off the PFF grade breakdown below, this is a matchup clearly in favor of Buckner:

According to PFF, Vujnovich has allowed two sacks and 10 total pressures thus far into 2017.

We’ll get into Vujnovich’s pass-protection struggles shortly, but it’s pretty safe to say Buckner has an ability to make an impact here.

To offset Buckner’s interior pass-rushing abilities, though, the Colts will likely slide their protection from second-year center Ryan Kelly, who is making his first start of the season, after breaking a bone in his foot last August. Or, another possibility, the Colts will need left tackle Anthony Castonzo.

Yet this will likely open up opportunities for rookie defensive end Solomon Thomas and EDGE Aaron Lynch in nickel packages, considering each will be in on one-on-one matchups.

Advantage: San Francisco.

Jeremy Vujnovich’s Pass-Protection Issues

There’s one particular play from Indianapolis’ 46-18 loss to the Seattle Seahawks that plays directly into the hands of what Buckner can do.

On 2nd-and-10 at midfield, Vujnovich (yellow arrow) lined up opposite defensive tackle Sheldon Richardson — playing the right-defensive tackle spot — and Richardson will shoot between the B gap between Vujnovich and Castonzo.

Note the EDGE pressure from Seahawks defensive end Michael Bennett to the left:

Richardson is able to disengage from Castonzo, focusing solely on Vujnovich, after a series of swim moves.

Vujnovich is pushed back easily into the pocket. And with the converging Bennett to Brissett’s right, there’s little room to escape out of the pocket:

Brissett tried to evade the pressure, but to no avail, and he was taken down by Seattle defenders Nazair Jones and Marcus Smith.

But Richardson did the vast majority of the work here, pushing Vujnovich deep into the pocket.

Replicating This Effort with DeForest Buckner

The 49ers amassed six sacks and 16 quarterback hits in Week 4 against the Arizona Cardinals.

Per PFF, the Colts O-line is nearly on the same level as that of the Cardinals, with pass-blocking efficiency ratings of 71.2 and 67.7, respectively — ranked 28th and 31st in the league.

Needless to say, Indianapolis has struggled almost as badly in pass protection as Arizona.

One of those six sacks in Week 4 went to Buckner. Let’s take a look at it.

Buckner has already displayed his ability to use an effective swim move, and he’ll target the B gap, much like Richardson did in the above frames. But on this play, the edge pressure comes from veteran EDGE Elvis Dumervil:

Richardson’s bull rush worked well against Vujnovich, but Buckner might still have a nice advantage here with the swim move.

Dumervil’s outside-rush move forces Arizona’s left tackle to disengage from Buckner, creating this one-on-one matchup:

Needless to say, it’s a matchup Buckner wins.

Take a look at the real-time view:

And from the side angle:

There are a number of ways to get Vujnovich isolated in protection, ensuring Buckner will be allowed to operate effectively enough against one blocker.

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But at shown in the above features, we can see how very basic pressure opens up opportunities for edge rushers like Bennett and Dumervil, largely because opponents’ O-lines were so focused on the interior defender.

Granted, Brissett is much more elusive than Cardinals quarterback Carson Palmer. But it’s possible to see how both the Seahawks and 49ers defenders managed to block off lanes of escape out of the pocket.

Next: 49ers progress-report grades a quarter through 2017 season

This will be Buckner’s responsibility up front, and there’s a good chance he’ll maintain his lofty PFF grade, while adding some sack totals to it.