DeForest Buckner’s comments on trade to Colts prove this is where he belongs

Colts DT DeForest Buckner finally commented on being traded to Indianapolis and his quote will have fans amped.

It goes without saying that Indianapolis Colts general manager Chris Ballard has earned the trust of the championship-starved fan base, and rightfully so. After all, he’s made a legion of fantastic draft picks, most (or all) of whom figure to play huge roles on the team moving forward, since he took the job back in 2017.

Entering last offseason, however, there was one burning question surrounding Ballard: is he capable of pulling off a successful blockbuster trade? As amazing as the draft pick swap with the Jets during the 2018 Draft has panned out, that speculation mostly centered on deals involving players, not draft picks.

Well, to say that Ballard answered the call would be understatement. At the start of the NFL offseason, he struck a deal with San Francisco for defensive tackle DeForest Buckner in exchange for a 2020 first-round selection.

Buckner has proven to be the worth the price of admission, but fans never really had the luxury of hearing his thoughts about the trade. Well, over seven months removed from the bombshell deal, he has finally broken his silence. And you know what? It was well worth the wait.

We want to run through a brick wall after reading that quote, so it absolutely stinks that we have to wait another week and a half until Buckner takes the field again. Given that the Colts promptly inked him to a four-year, $84 million contract extension once the trade was finalized, it’s so satisfying to know that the 2018 Pro Bowler is thrilled to be in Indianapolis.

Buckner’s otherworldly start to his tenure with the Colts has only supported those comments, and has many fans wondering if the deal can go down as one of the best in franchise history if he continues on this trajectory.

Through six games this season, Buckner has earned one of Pro Football Focus’ highest grades (83.8) for interior defensive lineman, logging 28 tackles (four for loss), 2.5 sacks, 13 QB hits and one forced safety. In fact, before coming back down to earth over the last two weeks, he (per PFF) was actually outperforming Rams world-beater Aaron Donald through the first quarter of the season.

If you know anything about what Donald brings to the table on a weekly basis, that’s a massive accomplishment for Buckner.

One could argue that Buckner is just starting to hit his stride with the Colts after taking the first few weeks of the season to adjust to the new defensive scheme. Whatever the case, the former first-round pick has been wreaking havoc in backfields all season long, and fans should expect that to continue for as long as he’s in Indianapolis.

Based on these comments, that could be for a very, very long time.

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