Ranking Oregon's 5 most indispensable players after first four games

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It's early into the 2026 season for the Oregon Ducks, but we've already seen injuries hit the roster, especially on the offensive side of the ball.

Wide receiver Jeremiah McClellan broke his foot and will be out for an extended period of time, while offensive tackle Trent Ferguson suffered a knee injury that ended his season after Week 2. Tight end Jamari Johnson missed Games 2 and 3. Then, the scary injury, as quarterback Dante Moore slid against the USC Trojans and was met with a bone-chilling hit above the neck, requiring an ambulance to take him off the field.

While you'd want to say that injuries haven't affected the Ducks, as backup Dylan Riaola showed impressive poise in filling in for Moore and the offensive line seems to be coming together, that wouldn't be the truth. In Oregon's loss to Oklahoma State, they looked undermanned in the middle of the field in the passing game, missing a much-needed pass-catcher.

But in a vacuum, the injury luck hasn't been that bad for the Ducks this fall. What if it were? Who would be the players that the Ducks can least afford to lose to injury? We answered that exact question, ranking the five most indispensable players on the Oregon roster in 2026.

5) DL Bear Alexander

This one could be a duo pick with fellow interior defensive lineman A'Mauri Washington, but thus far, Bear Alexander has been the far more impressive player through four games. While the former Georgia Bulldog and USC Trojans had a strong first season with the Ducks in 2025, he's reached another level in 2026. Alexander has totaled 17 tackles and is second on the team with two sacks, providing both a gap-filling presence in the run game and the ability to collapse the pocket from the interior against the pass.

The depth at this spot was heavily decimated via the transfer portal in January, with seven defensive linemen in all departing for other Power 4 programs. That left Washington, Alexander, a couple holdovers and a couple of incoming transfers to make do, with the former two carrying much of the load early on. If Alexander were to go down, the Ducks would have a very big issue in replacing the 6-foot-3, 316-pound powerful defensive lineman.

4) TE Jamari Johnson

The Ducks have already been without Johnson and it proved to be tough to come back from. Originally out with an undisclosed injury right before kickoff against Oklahoma State, Oregon was forced to press former five-star and Penn State Nittany Lions transfer Andrew Olesh into starting action.

While talented and physically gifted at 6-foot-5 and 235 pounds, Olesh just doesn't offer up the same burst and athleticism that Johnson does. Olesh ended up catching just one pass for nine yards as the passing offense looked discombobulated as a whole.

Johnson was back on the field for the Ducks in Week 4 against the Trojans — and he promptly posted a career day. He caught a career-high seven passes for a career-high 119 yards, proving to be Raiola's security blanket when things broke down. There are a slew of talented running backs and wide receivers ready to step in if needed, but that's not necessarily the case to the same level at the tight end spot. Johnson is very much needed for this offense to reach its top level.

3) LB Devon Jackson

We're finally in the midst of the long-awaited Devon Jackson breakout — and it's been worth the wait. Jackson is tied for the team-lead in tackles with 23 while picking off a pass against Oklahoma State and returning it 96 yards for a touchdown. A drive before that, he'd hawked down quarterback Drew Mestemaker and forced the Cowboys to a field goal after a 70-yard run.

It was known that Jackson had all the physical tools at his disposal, as he's 6-foot-2, 242 pounds and supposedly the fastest player on the team. But he had to put it all together mentally and with his football instincts, which have all come together in 2026.

Unfortunately, that's coincided with a slight dip in fellow linebacker Jerry Mixon's play and a lack of complete emergence from Dylan Williams. Neither has separated themselves from the other as Jackson's reliable running mate, making Jackson's presence that much more important in the heart of the defense.

2) QB Dante Moore

We just saw what happens when Moore went down, as he did against USC. Raiola came in and completed 19-of-25 passes for 289 yards and two touchdowns, showing improvement as a passer from his Nebraska Cornhuskers days, leadership and poise under pressure. For backup quarterback play in college football, that was as good as it gets.

But that doesn't mean that Moore is expendable.

Moore has relatively struggled through three and a quarter games, but let's not forget that he was among the top Heisman Trophy contenders for much of last season. He completed 71.8% of his passes for 3,565 yards and 30 touchdowns, establishing himself as the potential No. 2 pick in the 2026 NFL Draft if he'd declared. He did struggle in the biggest games, both coming against the Indiana Hoosiers in which he combined for three touchdowns and interceptions apiece.

Experience is the greatest teacher of success. Moore went through likely the toughest moment of his career in dropping a dud against the Hoosiers in the CFP Semifinal, going through an entire offseason with that on his mind. While Raiola delivered in Week 4 against USC, he hasn't even been close to those high-pressure moments. For the Ducks to compete for a playoff spot, they could probably roll with Raiola just fine. But if they're to seriously compete for a national title, it'll have to be Moore back there under center.

1) C Iapani Laloulu

When it comes to October and November football in the Big Ten, it's a guarantee that the passing game isn't always going to be available. The flashy Ducks way of offensive football that appears in the sun oftentimes can't quite get going in the rain. In year's past, that's when Oregon has turned to their Joe Moore Award semifinalist offensive line to get the offense moving, pounding the rock on the ground when the defense knows it's coming.

The leader of that unit for the last two seasons and now into a third is center Iapani Laloulu, one of, if not the most respected and revered players on the team. Not only a strong leader, the 6-foot-2, 325-pound Laloulu has consistently been one of the top centers in college football during his time as the starter.

While the offensive line hasn't come together as the Ducks' coaching staff might've hoped through four weeks, it's Laloulu who shoulders much of the load of elevating a previously inexperienced group into what the standard has been in the trenches at Oregon. Without Laloulu at the pivot and calling the signals for the offensive line, the Ducks would be in big, big trouble without their leader.

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This article originally appeared on Ducks Wire: Ranking Oregon's 5 most indispensable players after first four games

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