Trio of Oregon Ducks make PFF's Big Board for 2026 NFL Draft

If there was one team in college football last year that garnered so much hype and excitement only for it to be squashed in a moment's time, that would, without a doubt, be the Oregon Ducks. 

Dan Lanning's third season as the head coach in Eugene was highlighted by a perfect regular season, a hefty length as the AP Poll's no. 1 team, a nerve-racking 32-31 win over the Ohio State Buckeyes, and a win over the Penn State Nittany Lions in the Big 10 Championship Game. 

Unfortunately for the team, the Buckeyes were hell-bent on redemption, and the Ducks' one loss on the year came at the worst time, deep into the College Football Playoff against Ohio State in a 41-21 affair. 

And now with players such as quarterback Dillon Gabriel and running back Jordan James off to the NFL now, the team now focuses on the 2025 season and then eventually the 2026 NFL Draft. 

And according to the Pro Football Focus Big Board, the Ducks should be quacking up a storm in the first two rounds, as three Oregon players were ranked on the PFF's Top 51 list. 

Leading the way is safety Dillon Thieneman, Oregon's new defensive back that transferred in from Purdue, who ranked in at number 19. 

Further down the list, two of the final three players hail from Eugene, with center Iapani Laloulu coming in at 49 and rounding out the list at 51 is running back Makhi Hughes, who recently transferred to Oregon from Tulane this past January. 

Thieneman was named the Big 10 Freshman of the Year and was a third-team All-American in 2023. 

During his time with the Green Wave, Hughes was named the AAC Rookie of the Year in 2023 and has run for over 1,300 yards in each of his first two collegiate seasons, so the hole that Jordan James left at running back should easily be filled by the junior back out of Birmingham, Alabama.