The 49ers are Still Trying to Replace DeForest Buckner

One of the biggest mistakes Kyle Shanahan and John Lynch ever made was trading DeForest Buckner to the Colts for a first-round pick.

One of the biggest mistakes Kyle Shanahan and John Lynch ever made was trading DeForest Buckner to the Colts for a first-round pick.

The 49ers used that pick to draft Buckner’s replacement — Javon Kinlaw. But Kinlaw was a huge disappointment, so the 49ers replaced him by signing Javon Hargrave to the contract they should have given Buckner in the first place. And Hargrave was a huge disappointment too, so the 49ers plan to release him when the new league year starts on March 12.

Which means five years after the 49ers foolishly traded Buckner, they still have to replace him.

And that’s why CBS Sports predicts the 49ers to draft Texas A&M defensive lineman Shemar Stewart with the 11th pick.

“It was not long ago that San Francisco had DeForest Buckner, Javon Kinlaw and Arik Armstead,” writes CBS analyst Josh Edwards. “Javon Hargrave was the only one of any consequence who the 49ers have brought into the building. Moving forward, they must embrace their roots and reinvest in the defensive line.”

Just for clarification, the 49ers never had Buckner and Kinlaw on the team at the same time. And when Robert Saleh was the defensive coordinator, Armstead started at defensive end, not defensive tackle. Saleh wanted someone heavier in the middle.