There’s no other way around it: The San Francisco 49ers defensive line is worse now than it was before the team traded away Pro Bowl defensive tackle DeForest Buckner to the Indianapolis Colts last March.
Granted, getting the No. 13 overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft back in return is no slouch. Yet there’s no one player, currently in the draft or on the Niners roster, who can adequately replace and replicate the kind of production Buckner generated during his four years in San Francisco.
For now, at least on paper, the 49ers will use a rotation up front to eat up the snaps Buckner would have otherwise seen had he remained on the roster.