Grant Cohn: 49ers select Oregon defensive lineman DeForest Buckner in NFL draft

SANTA CLARA - The rebuilding 49ers needed to add as many players to the starting lineup as they could. In Round 1, they added two.

First, they took DeForest Buckner, the defensive end from Oregon. Took him with the seventh pick.

Buckner hoped the 49ers would draft him. As he sat and watched the draft unfold from his couch in Hawaii, he prayed he could rejoin his college coach, Chip Kelly, and college teammate, Arik Armstead, in Santa Clara.

At approximately 2:37 p.m. Hawaiian time, Buckner got his wish.

“I’m probably the happiest guy in the draft right now,” Buckner said on a conference call after the Niners took him with pick No. 7. “Being reunited with Arik, having that history with him back at Oregon - we’re good friends, and we’ve been talking about (playing together again) a little bit throughout the draft process.”

Buckner also had talked to his agent about playing for the Niners, and the agent told Buckner the Niners were interested in him. But Buckner himself hadn’t heard from the team since the Combine, and the Niners hadn’t invited Buckner to Santa Clara for an official visit.

Apparently, they didn’t need to visit Buckner. “They already knew who I was,” Buckner explained. “Coach Kelly and (defensive line) coach (Jerry) Azz(inaro), they both recruited me. I feel like they already know who I was as a person. There wasn’t much to get to know.”

Buckner’s freshman season was Kelly’s final season as the head coach at Oregon. That was 2012. Since then, Buckner won the Pac-12’s Defensive Player of the Year Award and earned a first-team All-America selection from USA Today.

In 2015 alone, Buckner recorded 12 sacks, 16 quarterback hits and 39 hurries, according to the Pro Football Focus 2016 Draft Guide. No interior defensive lineman generated more pressure than Buckner last season.

“I’m really aggressive,” Buckner said, describing his style of play. “I like to use my hands a lot in the pass-rush game. I also like to use a lot of power, but at the same time when guys expect power, I’m using my athleticism … and my speed and my hands.”

In the 49ers’ 3-4 defense, Buckner will play right defensive end - the same position Justin Smith played before he retired. And Armstead will play left defensive end - Ray McDonald’s old position.

“It’s unique that I have an opportunity … to coach (Buckner and Armstead) again,” Kelly said in the 49ers’ auditorium after Round 1. “They’re what you’re looking for when you’re running a 3-4 defense.”

If Buckner were the only player the 49ers had drafted, their first round probably would be considered a success. But, the Niners traded back into the first round. They traded their second-, fourth- and sixth-round picks to the Kansas City Chiefs in exchange for pick No. 28, and took Stanford guard Joshua Garnett.

Garnett replaces Mike Iupati, the former 49ers guard who signed with the Arizona Cardinals in 2015. Iupati is one of the best run-blockers in the NFL. Garnett may be even better.

“From my personal knowledge of going against him, we thought he was the best interior run-blocker in the draft,” Kelly said. “When you look at some of those short-yardage goal-line packages that David (Shaw) runs (at Stanford), and you look at Josh who’s literally three inches off the ground just driving guys out of there - it’s impressive to see.”

Garnett almost surely will start Week 1. Which position will he play - left guard or right guard?

“Today, I don’t have that answer for you,” Kelly said. “We drafted two guys in the first round, but they still have to earn their playing time here. It’s a meritocracy.”