Being described as consistent, from DeForest Buckner's viewpoint, is the highest compliment he can receive. It's also the descriptor you're most likely to hear when talking with coaches or teammates about the 30-year-old defensive tackle.
Buckner, over his nine-year NFL career, has been a model of consistency in everything he does. He doesn't divert from his Monday-through-Saturday routine, which includes early-morning weightlifting sessions, intentional film study and a heavy emphasis on treatment to get his body ready to play Sunday. And when Buckner is on the field on Sundays, that consistent routine produces consistent production on a game-to-game, month-to-month and year-to-year scale.
"He's a very smart player that knows how to break down the film and break down a team," defensive tackle Grover Stewart said. "He's always has a step ahead of people. ... He knows each formation, he knows how they shift and all that — he already knows what's about to happen."
But it's sometimes easy to take a player for granted when they're so remarkably consistent for such a long period of time.
"I think we all do," defensive coordinator Gus Bradley said.
The Colts don't have to do any projecting or wishcasting with the three-time Pro Bowler. Since being traded to the Colts in 2020, only one defensive tackle has more sacks than Buckner (Kansas City's Chris Jones), who's hurled a quarterback to the ground 39 times in the last five seasons. And his play has not dropped off after turning 30 this summer: Buckner's 6.5 sacks this season are seventh among defensive tackles, and that's with him missing five full games in 2024.
Entering Week 16, Buckner has recorded a sack in three consecutive games, the third time in his career he's had back-to-back-to-back sacks (Weeks 6-8 of 2021, Weeks 2-4 of 2019).
Also: Pro Football Focus tracks a stat called pass rush win rate, which quantifies how frequently a defensive player beats a pass blocker on a snap. And Buckner's 15.9 percent pass rush win rate is the third-highest among defensive tackles this season.
"He's disruptive," Bradley said. "You can see them turn the protection to him at times. He gets a lot of attention."
But Buckner's impact on the Colts extends beyond his on-field production, and it's another aspect of who he is that is not taken for granted inside the walls of the Indiana Farm Bureau Football Center. The wisdom Buckner possesses, and imparts on the rest of the Colts' locker room, is invaluable whether his team is winning or losing.
"He's the foundation," linebacker Zaire Franklin said. "I think he's the leader. He's the one that rights the ship. I think for me personally, he's a sounding board to help me deal with different things in the locker room, different things just trying to grow as a teammate, as a player, as a father. He's a great man. And you know, I think he's somebody that not only myself, but a lot of guys in this locker room lean on both on the field and off the field."
As the Colts turn their attention to the final three games of 2024, with an unlikely but not impossible path to the playoffs, Buckner's steady presence on and off the field will take on added importance. The Colts need help to make the playoffs – in the form of the Los Angeles Chargers losing two of their final three games – but more critical is this team taking care of its own business.
And who better to turn to than a guy who exemplifies consistently taking care of his own business, regardless of the circumstances surrounding him.
"Whether winning or losing, I'm going to consistently do my part," Buckner said. "My thing is leaving no stone unturned, and I'm going to do everything throughout the week for my body, mentally, whatever it is to give myself the edge and to help my team succeed. So, that's the way I go about it every single week. I would say it's probably one of the ultimate compliments I could get as a player and as a teammate."
