Teddye

Buchanan

Buchanan’s impressive rookie season comes to an end. The rookie fourth-rounder played his way into a starting role in training camp and wound up totaling 93 tackles, five TFLs, and one forced fumble in 14 games. Buchanan will now have to undergo surgery and rehab in hopes of being ready for next season, although, given the late nature of his injury, it wouldn’t be surprising if he wasn’t ready by Week 1.

This was to be expected after Buchanan’s knee buckled under him while covering a punt early in Sunday’s win. The rookie linebacker is scheduled to undergo more tests on Monday to confirm things, but it sounds like Buchanan is trending toward missing the remainder of the season. Buchanan is second on the team with 93 tackles this season and has also registered five TFLs to go with one forced fumble and one pass breakup. His absence would be a big loss for the Ravens who are fighting to stay in the playoff hunt.

Buchanan was running down field with the punt coverage team when he went down on a non-contact play. The rookie linebacker was grabbing at his right knee before heading to the sideline and was later carted to the locker room. A rookie fourth-round pick, Buchanan has started 12 of the 13 games he’s appeared in this season, totaling 91 tackles, a half sack, and a forced fumble.

Buchanan (6’2/233) spent four seasons at UC-Davis before transferring to Cal for the 2024 season. A former high school quarterback, Buchanan successfully transferred his field-reading skills to his role as a coverage linebacker, yielding just a 7.9 percent target rate and a 56.3 percent catch rate. Buchanan led all linebackers at the NFL Scouting Combine in the vertical jump (40 inches) and tied for the positional lead in the bench press (26 repetitions). Buchanan can close on ball carriers quickly when he correctly reads the play, but can otherwise get lost in box traffic and lacks ideal thump. He uses his speed well as a blitzer and should be a standout player on special teams.