By the time Oregon football quarterback Dante Moore went live on ESPN’s SportsCenter broadcast last Wednesday morning, the Ducks were already returning a major part of their 2025 group. Tight end Kenyon Sadiq and safety Dillon Thieneman declared for the draft, but Oregon was bringing back its entire defensive line to go with offensive skill position players and its center.

When Moore announced on the show that he, too ,would return, one of the final pieces fell into place. The recruiting class was strong, but Oregon’s depth chart is changing a little bit less with these notable draft-eligible players officially coming back to school in 2026:

QB Dante Moore

The biggest domino fell with hours to go before the draft declaration deadline on Jan. 14, when Moore joined SportsCenter live to announce that he planned to forgo the 2026 draft and return to school at Oregon. With Moore’s return, the Ducks gain a top starter — without him, they’d either be searching for a new starter in the transfer portal, integrating Nebraska transfer Dylan Raiola or putting an underclassman in his place.

Moore’s decision is a boon for the Ducks, who get the 20-year-old back after his 3,565-yard, 30-touchdown, 10-interception season that ended in the Peach Bowl. He’s gaining time to grow by waiting on the NFL; despite a strong first full season of starting football, he showed room for improvement throughout and will get the chance to do so in 2026 while mentoring Raiola, who steps into a position to sit behind Moore while looking for a starting role in 2027.

WR Evan Stewart

Stewart’s return, while anticipated, wasn’t certain. He told reporters before the Orange Bowl that he thought declaring for the draft was a possibility after missing the entire 2025 season with a patellar tendon injury, but he was also excited at the possibility of playing with Moore as his quarterback. The former Texas A&M University transfer is a fast threat on the outside who was a top target for Dillon Gabriel when the Ducks won the Big Ten Championship in 2024 and should play well off rising sophomore Dakorien Moore and rising redshirt sophomore Jeremiah McClellan.

TE Jamari Johnson

Johnson, who transferred into Oregon before the 2025 season from the University of Louisville, sparked with 510 yards and three touchdowns on 32 receptions as the Ducks both leaned into 21-personnel packages and missed starter Sadiq (who declared for the draft) for periods of the season due to injury. He’ll be back as the expected starter in 2026 under a new offensive coordinator — Drew Mehringer, the former co-offensive coordinator and Johnson’s position coach last season. Expect the rising redshirt junior to fight for a place near the top of the 2027 tight end class, and boost a Ducks receiving core that boasts multiple experienced underclassmen and incoming blue-chip recruits.

C Iapani Laloulu

Laloulu is one of only two starting linemen from the 2025 season able to return — all of Oregon’s other starters save right guard Dave Iuli are out of eligibility. The center’s decision to come back anchors change among the Ducks’ group in a room that has finished as a finalist for the Joe Moore Award (given to the nation’s best offensive line) each of the past three seasons. He’ll be a senior in 2026 and won’t have to forge a new bond with the quarterback after Dante Moore announced his intent to return, too. Oregon allowed 19 sacks through 15 games in 2025, good for 16th-best nationally.

DT Bear Alexander and DT A’Mauri Washington

Alexander, who transferred into Oregon before the 2025 season after time at USC and the University of Georgia, nailed down an immediate role along the defensive line and was the first Duck to announce his decision to forgo the draft (on Dec. 12, 2025, more than a week before Oregon played its CFP First Round game against James Madison University). He’ll pair with Washington, who broke out in 2025 with a 1.5 sack, 33-tackle season to keep building a home in opponents’ backfields. The Ducks ranked 24 nationally in rushing yards allowed in 2025, when they averaged 115.7 yards per game allowed.

EDGE Teitum Tuioti and EDGE Matayo Uiagalelei

The Ducks officially returned their entire starting defensive line, which included Alexander, Washington and the edge duo of Tuioti and Uiagalelei. Despite losing multiple depth pieces to the transfer portal, Oregon will have an experienced group expected to start in the defensive trenches, and its edges are a major part. Tuioti’s 2025 season included a tackle for loss in 14 of 15 games to go with a team-leading 9.5 sacks and two forced fumbles, while Uiagalelei, who led the team in sacks in 2024, stacked it with a six-sack, two-forced-fumble season that peaked with his strip sack of Texas Tech University quarterback Behren Morton in the Ducks’ 23-0 Orange Bowl win over the Red Raiders.