Dan Lanning’s push to keep Oregon stocked at safety has already started reaching into the 2028 class.
Four-star safety CJ Craig-James, one of the top defensive backs in the country, announced on his X account that Oregon made his list of 12 finalists. The Ducks joined a group that includes Alabama, Auburn, Ohio State, LSU, Georgia, Vanderbilt, Clemson, Notre Dame, California, Florida and Miami.
Craig-James, a Birmingham, Alabama, product at Parker High School, is a consensus top-100 recruit in the 2028 cycle. Rivals has him highest at No. 83, and he’s viewed as a top-10 safety nationally as well as a top-10 player in Alabama. As a sophomore, he posted 37 tackles, two pass breakups, a forced fumble, a fumble recovery touchdown and four interceptions, according to 247Sports.
For Oregon, the timing fits the way the program is building out its future. The Ducks are already working ahead in the 2028 cycle while the number of uncommitted blue-chip players in 2027 keeps shrinking. Oregon still doesn’t have a commit in 2028, but the staff is clearly getting active early.
The Rivals Prediction Machine currently gives Alabama the best shot at Craig-James, at 27.3 percent.
Oregon’s secondary board is busy beyond Craig-James, too. The Ducks are also pursuing four-star defensive back Jordan Hicks, who recently cut his list to eight and included Oregon. On the other side of the ball, they’re in the mix for four-star receiver Braylon Clark and four-star defensive lineman Trison Satele, and they’ve also picked up a pair of predictions for four-star quarterback Josiah Boyd.
The Ducks sit at No. 4 in the 2027 recruiting class, according to Rivals. Their first 2027 commitment came in June 2025, and the class already includes two safeties: four-star Semaj Stanford, who committed in April and is ranked the No. 3 safety in the class by 247Sports, and three-star Malakai Taufoou, who pledged in May.
That gives Lanning and defensive coordinator Chris Hampton a strong base at the position, and Oregon’s recent track record there has been loud. Five-star safety Jett Washington led the way in the Ducks’ latest haul, while four-star Devin Jackson and Xavier Lherisse helped make up a loaded 2026 safety class. Lanning also helped safety Dillon Thieneman become a first-round pick in the 2026 NFL Draft.
With that kind of pipeline in place, Oregon is still pressing for more blue-chip talent at safety - and Craig-James is now firmly on the board.
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The bigger picture for Oregon is hard to miss. Since 2024, 25 Ducks have been selected in NFL drafts, including a program-record 10 in the 2025 draft, and the pipeline does not look like it is slowing down anytime soon. NFL Mock Draft Database even projects 11 Oregon players to go in the 2027 draft, which would set another school mark and keep the Ducks right in the middle of the leagues young-star conversation. [Read more 🡒]