5. Offensive line
Last year’s offensive line just didn’t live up to expectations and there was a good reason for that: the Ducks didn’t have Penei Sewell anchoring the left side of the line.
Sewell opted out before the season started in order to prepare for the NFL draft where he’s widely considered the top offensive lineman available despite not having played a single down in over a year. But the Ducks should be much better in the trenches this season and Travis Dye even admitted this year’s group tops last year’s.
Travis Dye says this year's offensive line group is one of the best Oregon has had since the 2019 group.
— Max Torres (@mtorressports) April 13, 2021
Oregon has veterans returning at every position along the offensive line with George Moore, TJ Bass, Alex Forsyth, Ryan Walk, and Steven Jones all projected to start with the youngest player being a redshirt sophomore. But there’s also plenty of young, talented depth added to the roster in Kingsley Suamataia, Jonah Miller, Jackson Powers-Johnson, and Bram Walden. A couple of those guys are early enrollees in the 2021 class.
Also there to add depth to the center spot is four-star Jackson Light.
The line should be much better and deeper than last season and while they’re sitting at No. 5 right now, I wouldn’t be surprised to see them rise.