DeForest Buckner will be surrounded by some familiar faces when he finally meets with his new NFL team.
The San Francisco 49ers drafted Buckner with the No. 7 selection in the 2016 NFL Draft, joining Buckner with former defensive line mate and 1st round selection Arik Armstead, and his former coach, a guy who recruited him to come to Oregon, Chip Kelly.
Armstead said he would be excited to be reunited with Buckner, who remained one of his closest friends.
“Having a chance to play with him again would be awesome,” Armstead told The Sacramento Bee. “We started out together, and I wish I could have played with him one more year. So if we draft him, that would be awesome.
It was reported Kelly won’t have much say in the picks the 49ers make this year, but general manager Trent Baalke said their evaluation and analysis of players mesh well. So both of them should be happy with the selection of Buckner, who was the Pac-12 defensive player of the year after leading the conference with 10.5 sacks.
Buckner joins a 49ers squad that is trying to overcome a 5-11 season under Jim Tomsula, but has 12 draft picks this year, and is looking to restock their roster.
Some speculated the 49ers might go quarterback with the No. 7 pick, but Baalke and Kelly have both said they expect Colin Kaepernick to be their starter this season.
The big event to shake the draft early on was a tweet by Laremy Tunsil, who many viewed to be the best player in the draft. But he sent out a tweet 10 minutes before it started showing him smoking marijuana from a gas mask. Tunsil fell out of the top 10.
