The Oregon Ducks’ defense in 2023 was a breath of fresh after experiencing the Ducks’ shaky defense in 2022. There were still problems — particularly in the secondary when Oregon was playing Washington — but overall this year’s defense was a strong unit.
After the culmination of the 2023 season, Pro Football Focus (PFF) finalized their season grades for every player in college football. PFF grades players based on their overall performance, as well as in specific aspects of the game. Today, I’m looking at the 10 Ducks defenders with the highest overall grades in 2023.
One stat used throughout the list is “Stops,” which PFF defines as “tackles that constitute a ‘failure’ for the offense.” For more information on stops, PFF has a more in-depth explanation here.
Lastly, this list only includes players with more than 200 snaps, so players like Rodrick Pleasant — whose defensive grade of 87.1 was the highest on the team — aren’t included due to a lack of snaps.