Can 49ers find a replacement for DeForest Buckner in the NFL Draft in Kinlaw or Brown?

The 49ers are entering a new season without their most reliable player from a top-flight defense.

Defensive tackle DeForest Buckner is now an Indianapolis Colt, thanks to the trade last month that netted San Francisco much-needed financial flexibility and the No. 13 pick in next week’s NFL Draft.

Which means a return trip to the Super Bowl next season, if and when it happens amid the coronavirus crisis, will be more difficult without one of their captains and best overall players. Buckner was last season’s Bill Walsh Award winner given to the club’s most valuable player as voted on by coaches. That should speak volumes, given Buckner was just one of five former first-round draft picks on the team’s imposing defensive line.

But the No. 13 pick gives John Lynch and Kyle Shanahan a chance at finding a cheaper replacement as salary cap restrictions tighten. Instead of giving Buckner the four-year, $84 million extension he received from the Colts, the 49ers decided to pay his close friend Arik Armstead on a five-year pact worth up to $85 million, roughly $4 million less annually than Buckner. They could not pay both, while the No. 13 pick is slated to earn some $16 million over the next four seasons combined.

Many expect the 49ers to kick the tires on a top receiver prospect with the pick they received from the Colts. If they don’t, the next most logical immediate impact option would be finding Buckner’s primary replacement at defensive tackle. Two prospects could fill that void, South Carolina’s Javon Kinlaw and Auburn’s Derrick Brown, who are two distinctly different players, though both are giant humans.

Kinlaw might be the prospect most similar to Buckner in class. Kinlaw is not as tall — 6-5 compared to 6-7 — but he’s bigger at 324 pounds coming out of college while Buckner was 291. Observers say Kinlaw is explosive coming out of his stance, for a man of his size, which could make him a strong fit in defensive line coach Kris Kocurek’s attacking style.

Peter King, the NBC scribe who’s connected to the 49ers front office, recently brought up Kinlaw to the Bay Area in his weekly column.

“I hear the Niners are desperate for a space-eating defensive tackle who can threaten the pocket, and that’s what the 315-pound and athletic Kinlaw does,” King wrote.

According to Pro Football Focus, Kinlaw finished last season No. 2 in the country among interior defensive linemen with an 18.1-percent win rate in pass rushing situations behind only Jordan Elliott of Missouri, who could be another option at some point during the draft’s first three rounds.

The 49ers already have ties to the South Carolina program after going through the draft process with receiver Deebo Samuel a year ago before taking him in Round 2.

Brown, meanwhile, is a barrel-chested 6-foot-5 and 326 pounds, known more for penetrating and run stuffing than bothering quarterbacks in the passing game. He’s widely projected to get taken before Kinlaw, though that could depend on what his NFL team values. The advanced analytic community favors Kinlaw’s pass rushing to Brown, who had a 13.7-percent pass rush win rate, per PFF.

However, some prefer Brown to Kinlaw because of his high energy. One of the knocks on Kinlaw is a knack for taking the occasional play off. And the 49ers might not need big sack numbers from Kinlaw or Brown with Nick Bosa, Dee Ford and Armstead also getting after the passer. Perhaps Kinlaw or Brown would be needed to occupy double teams allowing the others to slide into one-on-one matchups.

Brown’s ability to overpower offensive linemen remind some of Pro Bowlers Akiem Hicks and Fletcher Cox, while Kinlaw is akin to the more nimble Chris Jones, who harassed the 49ers offense during the second half of February’s Super Bowl while making game changing plays, including a pair of batted passes at the line of scrimmage. Jones had 24.5 sacks over the past two seasons while Cox and Hicks combined for 22.

Of course there’s a chance the 49ers go another direction at No. 13 — like receiver, offensive line or cornerback — which would likely require them to find a defensive tackle later, starting with their original first-round pick at No. 31.

There, they could land a player like TCU’s Ross Blacklock (6-3, 290), who primarily played nose tackle in college, though some believe he’ll be better as a three technique in the NFL. Also in the mix will be Brown’s Auburn teammate Marlon Davidon (6-3, 303), who played primarily defensive end.

Others to keep tabs on: Justin Madubuike (Texas A&M), Elliott, Neville Gallimore (Oklahoma), Justin Madubuike (Texas A&M) and Raekwon Davis (Alabama), who reportedly met with the 49ers.

Davis (6-6, 311) was once believed to have a first-round trajectory following his 8.5-sack sophomore season in 2017. But his production dipped precipitously the last two years when he combined for just 2.0 sacks in 17 games. He’s likely to go in rounds 3 or 4.