FOXBORO, Mass. — For how productive Indianapolis Colts star defensive tackle DeForest Buckner is, he usually isn’t viewed in the same class as Aaron Donald.
But New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick sees it differently and has Buckner on his list of upper-echeleon, elite defensive linemen in the NFL.
“He’s as good as there is,” Belichick said prior to Wednesday’s practice. “He’s up there with all of them. Donald, (Cam) Heyward, Chris Jones. Whoever you want to talk about statistically, he’s right there. And he plays that way. He’s got a ton of production: tackles, sacks, quarterback hits, batted balls, forced fumbles, you name it. He’s got it all.”
Belichick handed out a heap of praise to a Colts defense that ranks seventh in the league with 19.6 points allowed per game and made sure to single out Buckner.
The 6-foot-7, 295-pound defensive stalwart, who was selected seventh overall in the 2016 NFL Draft by the San Francisco 49ers, has four sacks and 31 tackles on the season. Belichick also remembers Buckner’s production against the Patriots last year, when he tallied four tackles and a sack in a 27-17 win for the Colts.
It will be a massive test to contain the two-time Pro Bowler alongside Yannick Ngakoue for a Patriots offensive line that turned in a very shaky performance against the New York Jets. It’s a reshuffled unit at the moment with David Andrews still recovering from a concussion. The Patriots’ starting center was absent from the media portion of practice Wednesday.
Buckner can be a one-man wrecking crew in the trenches, and with any defensive difference-maker like Buckner, the Patriots will have to be aware of where he lines up on every play.
“He usually plays the three-technique but they will move him around, have moved him around,” Belichick said. “I think with Ngakoue they’ve moved him less this year than last year. Ngakoue plays outside, Buckner generally plays inside. … I’d say most of the time he’s on one guard or the other depending on the front. He does move around and he did more of that last year and he got us last year. … We’ve got to be ready for him everywhere.”
Belichick added: “Obviously, Buckner is a major force.”
The Patriots will look to notch a second consecutive win when they host the Colts on Sunday at Gillette Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. ET.
