San Francisco 49ers: Top 6 biggest offseason winners and losers

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SANTA CLARA, CA – DECEMBER 16: DeForest Buckner #99 of the San Francisco 49ers celebrates after a sack of Russell Wilson #3 of the Seattle Seahawks during their NFL game at Levi’s Stadium on December 16, 2018 in Santa Clara, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images) /

Winner: DeForest Buckner

It’s not as if one specific move resulted in DeForest Buckner being declared a “winner” of the offseason. In fact, Buckner had a relatively quiet offseason by most standards.

Rather, it was the combination of moves made around him that make him an ultimate winner of the offseason.

Buckner enjoyed an incredible breakout campaign in his third NFL season last year. The 2016 first-round pick showed plenty of signs of potential throughout the first two years of his career but emerged as a true top-tier talent in 2018.

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Buckner finished the season with a whopping 12.0 sacks en route to the first Pro Bowl appearance of his young career. He entered the season with just 12 tackles for loss over his first two NFL seasons only to finish 2018 with 17 alone in just one year.

And he did all of that while playing alongside a relatively lackluster supporting cast.

Solomon Thomas totaled just one sack and three tackles for loss in 16 games while Arik Armstead’s three sacks and six tackles for loss were nothing special either. His interior running mate Earl Mitchell provided even less in terms of production as well meaning he was pretty much on his own.

But not anymore.

After trading for Pro Bowl pass rusher Dee Ford and drafting Ohio State standout Nick Bosa in the offseason, the 49ers defensive line looks like one of the more complete units in the NFL.

That means more production from the pass rush and more help for Buckner.