Oregon Ducks' 2026 Position Preview: Defensive Line
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With the 2026 college football season right around the corner, it's time to examine the Oregon Ducks' loaded roster before Week One.
Head coach Dan Lanning did an incredible job of not only retaining some of his top playmakers from 2025, but also finding multiple highly-rated players within the transfer portal. However, one of the most important groups on the Ducks' roster this year is the defensive line, which includes plenty of key veterans.
Here's everything you need to know about Oregon's defensive line heading into the upcoming college football season.
Oregon's Stout Defensive Line
To the surprise of many, Lanning was able to retain his anchor on the defensive line from last season in A'Mauri Washington. The highly-touted defensive tackle could have been a potential first-round pick in the 2026 NFL Draft after his incredible junior stint with the Ducks, but ultimately decided to return for one final season.
In 2025, Washington finished with 33 tackles, eight pass breakups, three tackles for loss, and 1.5 sacks. While his efforts within the passing game did not go unnoticed last season, it was his high level of play against the run that caught the attention of NFL scouts. Washington posted an 83.3 PFF run defense grade in 2025, while recording 24 offensive stops.
Joining Washington on the defensive line in 2026 is former Georgia and USC transfer Bear Alexander.
Throughout his time with the Trojans, the former four-star high school prospect proved to be a key piece of the defensive efforts when healthy. But upon his arrival in Eugene last fall, Alexander quickly found his role on Lanning's defense. He finished his junior season with 50 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss, and one sack, making himself the perfect complementary piece to Washington at the line of scrimmage. Together, Washington and Alexander will be the key to success when examining the Ducks' front four unit on defense this season.
Outside of the interior of the defensive line, Oregon star EDGE Matayo Ulagalelei will once again be the difference-maker in the passing game this year.
Ulagalelei, similar to Washington, could have joined the rest of the Ducks in the 2026 NFL Draft but decided to return for the 2026 season. The talented defensive end posted 34 tackles, six sacks, four pass breakups, and 3.5 tackles for loss last year under Lanning. His exceptional performance against the USC Trojans last year included seven tackles, two tackles for loss, and one sack, proving him to be a force when defending the pass and run.
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