Golden Nuggets: DeForest Buckner looking at fewer snaps in 2017

Last season, the San Francisco 49ers rookie, DeForest Buckner, played the most snaps of any interior defensive linemen in the league. He played 1,007 snaps, which was around 30 more than the next guy. Only 3 players topped 900 snaps, making Buckner’s snap count even more eye-opening. He played in 90 percent or more snaps in 10 games.

New defensive coordinator Robert Saleh doesn’t plan to have any of his linemen utilized in that way. He mentions having the linemen playing around 500-600 snaps in the season, which should help get more out of them. They have brought in veterans and new rookies to help break up the workload. It will help no one more than Buckner, who said he felt tired last season and that he may have been hurting the team more than he was helping by being out there.

Buckner’s defensive teammate, Eric Reid, is moving to a new spot. He is making the move to strong safety. That will put him closer to the line of scrimmage and he is relishing the chance. Saleh is looking to Reid to be the 49ers version of Kam Chancellor. He will tasked with blowing up running plays to help the 49ers porous run defense. He will be able to make hard hits without worrying about being the last defender like he was in the free safety spot. Free safety will be Jimmie Ward’s role now.

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