Deone Bucannon

Deone Bucannon
No. 20 Arizona Cardinals
Position: Linebacker
Personal information
Date of birth: (1992-08-30) August 30, 1992
Place of birth: Oakland, California
Height: 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Weight: 220 lb (100 kg)
Career information
High school: Fairfield (CA) Vanden
College: Washington State
NFL Draft: 2014 / Round: 1 / Pick: 27
Career history
Roster status: Active
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics as of Week 7, 2016
Total tackles: 247
Sacks: 5.0
Forced fumbles: 4
Pass deflections: 6
Interceptions: 1
Defensive touchdowns: 1
Player stats at NFL.com

Deone Ariel Bucannon (pronounced DAY-own) (born August 30, 1992) is an American football player for the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the Cardinals in the first round of the 2014 NFL draft. He played college football at Washington State. Originally drafted as a safety, Bucannon transitioned to play a hybrid safety-inside linebacker role in the Cardinals's 3-4 defense.

Early years

Bucannon attended Vanden High School in Fairfield, California. As a senior, he recorded 107 tackles, including four sacks, and had two interceptions and two fumble recoveries. He also caught 20 passes for 264 yards and a touchdown on offense, and led Vanden to the second round of the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Division III playoffs. He garnered his second-straight SCAC Defensive Player of the Year honor, in addition to all-league and all-city honors. In his junior year, he totaled 140 tackles, three sacks, three interceptions and two fumble recoveries, winning his first Solano County Athletic Conference Player of the Year award and being named All-CIF Sac-Joaquin Section and City Defensive Player of the Year.

Considered a three-star recruit by Rivals.com, he was rated as the 45th best safety prospect of his class.[1]

College career

Bucannon attended Washington State University from 2010 to 2013.[2][3] As a senior in 2013, he was a First team All-Pac-12 and first-team All-American selection.[4][5][6] He finished his career with 384 tackles and 15 interceptions.

Professional career

Bucannon was considered one of the top safety prospects for the 2014 NFL Draft.[7][8] He was selected by the Arizona Cardinals as the 27th pick of the first round of the 2014 NFL Draft.

2014

On June 5, 2014, Bucannon signed a 4-year, $7.7 million contract with a $3.92 million signing bonus and $6.23 million guaranteed. The contract also includes a fifth-year option.[9]

Bucannon began his first season starting as the strong safety. On September 8, 2014, he earned his first career start in the season opener against the San Diego Chargers and finished his first game with 5 tackles. During a Week 5 loss to the Denver Broncos, he finished with a season-high 7 solo tackles. In a 24-20 win over the Philadelphia Eagles on October 26, he recorded a season-high 8 total tackles and a pass deflection. On November 9, 2014, Bucannon, racked up 5 total tackles (4 solo) and his first career sack in a 31-14 victory over the St. Louis Rams. After finishing the season 11-5, the Cardinals played the Carolina Panthers in a Wild-card game on January 3, 2015. In his first playoff game, he recorded 6 total tackles (5 solo) and a pass deflection.

During his rookie season, he finished with 83 total tackles, 66 solo tackles, 2 sacks, 2 pass deflections, and a forced fumbles in 9 starts and 16 games. Throughout his first season, he split starts with veteran Tony Jefferson.

2015

With so many talented safeties on the Cardinal's roster, Bucannon was supposed to be used as a rotational or back-up strong safety for the 2015 NFL season. After inside linebacker, Sean Weatherspoon went down with an injury during training camp, head coach Bruce Arians asked Bucannon to play inside linebacker. Although he is undersized as a linebacker, he has been effective. He is currently listed as the "$LB" or Money linebacker on the Cardinal's depth chart.[10] On October 11, 2015, Bucannon racked up a season-high 11 tackles (9 solo) in a 42-17 victory over the Detroit Lions. Throughout the first 6 games, he led his team in tackles.

On November 27, 2015, after a hit on the Cincinnati Bengal's wide receiver AJ Green the previous game, Bucannon was fined $23,152 for a hit on a defenseless receiver.

In a Week 10 game against the Seattle Seahawks, he earned his first sack of the season while also earning 7 total tackles in a 39-32 victory. On December 20, 2015, Bucannon intercepted a pass of Eagle's quarterback Sam Bradford and returned it for a 39-yard touchdown, marking the first touchdown in his career. He also finished the game with 11 tackles and a pass deflection in the Cardinal's 40-17 victory over Philadelphia.[11] In 16 starts of 2015, Bucannon made 112 tackles, 3 sacks, 2 fumble recoveries, 3 forced fumbles, 3 passes defended, and an interception returned for a touchdown.

References

External links

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