- San Francisco 49ers defensive lineman DeForest Buckner continued his excellent start to the season on Thursday night against the Rams, earning a team-high 88.9 overall grade. That performance comes on the heels of a monster effort in Week 2 against the Seahawks, in which he earned a career-high 92.2 overall grade.
- With a pair of run stops and another pair of quarterback pressures on the night, Buckner enters the weekend slate of games as the only interior defender to rank in the top five in both run stop rate (9.4 percent, 3rd) and pass rush productivity (12.8, 3rd).
- Buckner has been the unquestioned best defender on the 49ers through three games, positioning himself among elite company at his position. With a 90.4 overall grade on the season, the Oregon-product joins Ndamukong Suh (90.5) and J.J. Watt (90.2) as the only interior defenders with 90.0-plus grade this season.
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