INDIANAPOLIS - Chip Kelly is fond of saying big people beat up little people and DeForest Buckner could beat up many people with a single hand.

No, really. The Oregon defensive lineman has hands the size of saucers. At the NFL combine, his mitts were 11 ¾ inches from pinkie to thumb. Yes, that’s enormous: Buckner matched the mark for the largest hands at the combine since the NFL’s database opened in 2003.

“Growing up, I always knew I had kind of big hands,” Buckner said. “My siblings used to make fun of me.”

At the combine, though, NFL evaluators are admiring Buckner’s paws and the rest of his 6-foot-7, 291-pound frame. Buckner, considered by many analysts to the best the draft’s best defensive lineman, is the tallest defensive lineman at the combine and possesses gas-hose arms (34 3/8 inches).

Is it any wonder that Kelly, who prizes players with size, recruited Buckner to Oregon in 2012? Kelly also recruited 49ers defensive tackle Arik Armstead (6-7, 292), a 2015 first-round pick who was the tallest defensive lineman at last year’s combine.

In 2014, Buckner, Armstead and Alex Balducci (6-4, 310) formed an imposing front in Oregon’s 3-4 scheme.

“I’m pretty sure every game we played, the O-linemen when we got on the field, they looked at me, (Armstead) and Balducci and they were all like ‘Man, you guys are as big as hell,’” Buckner said. “We’d be looking at each other and just laugh because, literally, every team we played against they said the same thing.”

It’s possible Buckner could reunite with Armstead and Kelly in 2016, although there’s no guarantee the Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year will be available when the 49ers select at No. 7.

When he spoke to reporters today, Buckner had only met with the Cowboys at the combine, but he did bump into 49ers defensive line coach Jerry Azzinaro, his position coach at Oregon in 2012.

Buckner has also spoken plenty to Armstead. They are close friends and have been working together at EXOS training facility in Carlsbad.

A consistent topic of conversation between the former teammates: possibly being part of a big-as-hell defensive line in the NFL.

“We talk about it all the time, being reunited,” Buckner said. “Just taking the lead together it would be a crazy experience, being able to play with him again and having our old coaching staff.”

Twitter: @Eric_Branch