Paul Gutierrez, ESPN Staff Writer 8y

49ers address lines with DE DeForest Buckner, LG Joshua Garnett, so what's next?

SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- DeForest Buckner made four pre-draft visits.

The San Francisco 49ers were not one of the teams that had him over. Yet even when the Niners made the Oregon defensive lineman the No. 7 overall draft pick, he was not surprised. Not with his connection to new 49ers coach Chip Kelly, who recruited him to Oregon, as well as former Ducks defensive line coach Jerry Azzinaro.

“Man, I’m probably the happiest guy in the draft right now,” Buckner said on a conference call from his native Hawaii, referencing being reunited with the Niners’ first-round pick last year, former Ducks defensive lineman Arik Armstead.

“I feel like they already knew who I was as a person, so there wasn’t much to get to know. ... I didn’t feel shunned at all. They talked to me a little bit at the combine and I just kind of let things take its place.”

The 6-foot-7, 290-pound Buckner, who had 10.5 sacks last season as the Pac-12’s defensive player of the year, said the San Diego Chargers (No. 3 overall selection), Dallas Cowboys (No. 4), Jacksonville Jaguars (No. 5) and Tennessee Titans (No. 8), were the teams “showing some love” to him as the teams he did visit.

Buckner gave a scouting report on himself and Armstead.

“We’re both similar in size and everything,” Buckner said. “We both played in the same scheme and everything. I feel like I’m really aggressive. He’s aggressive too, but I’m also really aggressive. I like to use my hands a lot in the pass-rush game. I also really like to use a lot of power in my game too, but also at the same time when guys expect power, I’m using my athleticism, because I’m pretty athletic for my size and using speed with my hands.”

The Niners then surprisingly traded up from the second round into the No. 28 overall pick, going up nine spots, to select Outland Trophy winner Joshua Garnett from Stanford.

Even if he played left guard in a power-blocking scheme with the Cardinal, the Niners are moving to a zone-blocking scheme and their top free-agency acquisition was left guard Zane Beadles.

The bigger need on the offensive line was seemingly at right tackle. And the Niners still have needs at inside linebacker, receiver and, possibly, quarterback.

As such, some of the top 10 players remaining on ESPN draft expert Todd McShay’s board include: inside linebackers Myles Jack (UCLA) and Reggie Ragland (Alabama) and receiver Michael Thomas (Ohio State).

Barring more trades, the Niners do not have a pick Friday until the fifth pick of the third round, No. 68 overall, after giving up their second-rounder for the right to draft Garnett.

^ Back to Top ^