A preseason look at the 2027 NFL Draft says Oregon is sitting on something special.
Using the consensus Big Board at nflmockdraftdatabase.com, which pulls together NFL draft boards from across the internet, eight Ducks landed in the current projected Top 100. That’s the headline number for Oregon, and it would set a program record if it holds.
The broader picture around the Big Board is just as striking. The top 100 is dominated by the sport’s heavyweights: 29 players from the Big Ten and 39 from the SEC, with 97 of the 100 coming from the Power 4 and Notre Dame. That tracks with the way the 2026 NFL Draft played out, and it reinforces how much college football has tilted toward the Power 2, with the ACC and Big 12 next in line and the Group of 6 struggling to keep its best eligible players.
At the team level, the schools that stood out most were Texas, Oregon, Miami FL, Ohio State, and Notre Dame. Those five programs checked every major box in this look at draft buzz. They were five of the six teams with more than five Top 100 prospects, the only teams with four or more projected Top 60 picks, and the only teams with three or more projected Top 30 picks.
That lines up with where those programs sit in the preseason metrics, since all five are in Bill Connelly’s SP+ top 8 and the preseason FEI top 13. Georgia was the notable outlier in the other direction. The Bulldogs did not pop as much in this draft projection exercise, which the piece framed not as a knock on Georgia but as a sign of how deep that roster is from top to bottom.
There were also a few teams that jumped out for the opposite reason. Minnesota, Oklahoma State, and Rutgers each have at least two projected Top 100 players, even though none of them crack the Top 35 in preseason SP+ or FEI. The idea there is simple enough: those teams may need their best players to carry a lot of the load.
For Oregon, the schedule brings a couple of interesting draft-related tests. The Ducks do not play either of the two Big Ten teams mentioned in that group, but they do face Oklahoma State in Week 2.
The Cowboys have two players generating draft buzz: North Texas transfer quarterback Drew Mestemaker, who is No. 12 on the big board, and receiver Wyatt Young, who is No. 47.
That connection is the early-season matchup to watch, even if Oklahoma State is not viewed as a real playoff contender. How Oregon handles that passing game would still matter if the Ducks are chasing a third straight playoff berth.
The other opponent with at least two projected Top 100 prospects on Oregon’s schedule is Ohio State. The Buckeyes have six players in the projected Top 100, which makes the November matchup another showcase for elite talent on both sides.
That led to a deeper look at the recent history between Oregon and Ohio State from an NFL lens, going back to the 2009 Rose Bowl. The study checked each matchup and identified the future NFL players on each roster who would be drafted the following spring. One wrinkle: the 2024 matchups were adjusted for injury-related availability, so those numbers differ from the raw season totals.
The most surprising takeaway from the last five meetings was that the team with more future Top 100 NFL picks lost every time. The explanation offered was that overall roster depth mattered more than simply stacking the highest-end draft talent. One example cited was Ohio State’s 2014 national championship team, which did not include the 10 players who would go in the Top 100 of the 2016 draft.
For Oregon, the bottom line is pretty clean. The Ducks are getting more and more love from both the draft community and the college football analytics crowd.
They were the only team to rank in the top two in every category in this look, sitting second or tied with Texas from a projected draft standpoint and second behind Ohio State in the advanced-stat picture. In other words, Oregon is the one program that both camps keep circling.
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Oregon Back Da'Jaun Riggs Is Fighting For A Different 2026 Role
DaJaun Riggs spent the 2025 season on the field in a limited but meaningful way, getting into five games before injuries cut short his year. Now the redshirt sophomore running back is back in the mix as Oregon opens another fall camp, competing for a larger 2026 role alongside Jordon Davison and Dierre Hill Jr. For a back trying to climb the depth chart, this stage matters just as much as the games did last fall.
Riggs has talked through his recovery and the mindset that comes with trying to reset after a frustrating finish to a season. The bigger challenge now is turning that process into production, and that means sharpening the parts of his game that coaches value when the competition tightens. In a room with other talented options, he is working to make sure his camp stands out for more than just health. [Read more 🡒]
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Samples also addressed his April DUII arrest and said he has taken full accountability and completed the required accountabilities, a conversation that adds another layer to his first camp in Eugene. Elsewhere, linebacker Dylan Williams said he feels confident heading into the season and pointed to his physical preparation, giving Oregon another defender who believes he is ready for the demands of the year ahead. [Read more 🡒]
Oregons Offensive Line Push Just Added Another Big Recruiting Moment
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It fits the way Oregon has been building its future up front. The Ducks are pressing ahead in the 2028 cycle while still keeping their commitments in the 2027 class moving in the right direction, and the offensive line remains a clear priority. With some 2026 recruits also standing to have a real path to early playing time, Oregon has a pitch that goes beyond just landing talent - it can point to a depth chart that may not stay crowded for long. [Read more 🡒]