Tag: Pro Ducks

How former Ducks performed on the first NFL Sunday of the year

DeForest Buckner found the endzone, while Christian Gonzalez thrived in his debut. Here’s how Oregon stars performed in Week 1 of the NFL season

The NFL season is finally upon us, and littered across the league are former Oregon Ducks. Like I’ve done for the players across the NCAA who have transferred from Oregon, I will be providing a weekly update on the notable players who moved on from Oregon to the NFL.

There are 26 former Oregon Ducks on active NFL rosters. Not all of them are included in this list because not all of them played in or impacted their team’s first game. For this reason, the names on this list will likely fluctuate from week to week.

Read below to see how each former Duck performed in Week 1 of the NFL:

LOOK: Chase Cota scores first NFL touchdown in preseason game with Lions

LOOK: Chase Cota scores first NFL touchdown in preseason game with Lions

Former Oregon Ducks wide receiver Chase Cota continues to impress during his first looks at the NFL.

After going undrafted in the 2023 NFL Draft, Cota has been one of the most impressive you receivers so far during this preseason. After the first week, Cota was tied for the league lead of 1st down receptions with 4, is second in 15+ yard receptions with 2, and is fifth in receiving yards with 60.

On Saturday in the Lions’ second preseason game of the year against the Jacksonville Jaguars, Cota scored the first touchdown of his NFL career on a short out-route from the two yard-line.

As a Duck, Cota’s career was short but strong. After transferring from UCLA for his senior year, Cota had his best season as a college athlete. In 2022, he racked up 36 receptions, 497 yards, and 3 TDs, all of which were the best marks of his career.

Cota is fighting for a roster spot in Detroit, which is an uphill battle after signing as an undrafted free agent. However, he’s impressing so far and showing that he deserves a spot on some roster in the NFL.

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John Harbaugh has glowing words for former Oregon Duck, Malaesala Aumavae-Laulu

Former Duck Malaesala Aumavae-Laulu is getting glowing reviews from the Ravens so far at fall camp.

Last week, Baltimore Ravens’ head coach John Harbaugh met with the media and spoke about his team’s sixth-round draft pick, Malaesala Aumavae-Laulu. The former Oregon Ducks’ offensive lineman was an All-Pac-12 team honorable mention in 2022 after a great senior season.

Aumavae-Laulu was one of two Oregon offensive linemen drafted in 2023. The other was center Alex Forsyth, who went to the Denver Broncos in the seventh round. Aumavae-Laulu was a vital member of the stellar offensive line group for the Ducks in 2022, and he was a key piece in the high production of quarterback Bo Nix and running back Bucky Irving.

Jeff Zrebiec, a senior staff writer for the Athletic, reported that when asked about Aumavae-Laulu, coach Harbaugh said he’s earned the right to first-team reps. What’s interesting about that statement is the Ravens have had one of the best offensive lines in the NFL over the past five years. Aumavae-Laulu breaking into that already elite group so early is impressive. Hopefully, he can make an impact on a Ravens team that has been good but not great in recent years.

One of the reasons the Ravens have struggled to get over the hump has been a lackluster passing offense. A lot of the problem has been a lack of quality wide receivers for quarterback Lamar Jackson to target, but the addition of a blocker such as Aumavae-Laulu, who has experience blocking for a dual-threat QB, Bo Nix, could be beneficial for Jackson and the Ravens’ offense.

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Former Oregon great Royce Freeman signs deal with Los Angeles Rams

Former Oregon great Royce Freeman signs deal with Los Angeles Rams

One of the best running backs in Oregon Ducks history is getting another shot in the NFL.

On Sunday afternoon, the Los Angeles Rams announced they were signing Royce Freeman to a contract for the 2023 season. The announcement came a day after Rams running back Sony Michel announced he was retiring.

Freeman was drafted by the Denver Broncos in the third round of the 2018 NFL draft, and played there for two seasons. He has since spent time with the Houston Texans and the Carolina Panthers.

Freeman is still the No. 1 player on Oregon’s all-time career rushing list for total yards (5,621) and total touchdowns (64). He will compete with Cam Akers, Kyren Wiliams, Zach Evans and Ronnie Rivers in the Rams’ backfield.

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Devon Allen’s speed rating in Madden 24 laughably inaccurate

According to Madden 24, there are 9 WRs in the NFL faster than Devon Allen. We would like to politely raise an objection.

If I’m Devon Allen, I’m starting to take bets.

“I know what the ratings say, but which one of you actually thinks that you’re faster than me?”

That’s the mindset I would have after seeing the first batch of EA Sports Madden 24 ratings on Monday. The popular video game announced the ratings for wide receivers and safeties in the NFL. Allen was rated as a 60 overall, but the more glaring number is his 95 rating for speed.

That is a 95 rating for an Olympic sprinter and one of the fastest people on the planet. He has the fourth-fastest 110-meter hurdle time in the world this year, and two USATF Track and Field championship gold medals in his trophy case to go along with multiple trips to the Olympic Games.

According to Madden 24, that person is not as fast as the following players:

  • Tyreek Hill (99 Speed)
  • Jameson Williams (98 Speed)
  • Jaylen Waddle (98 Speed)
  • Marquise Brown (97 Speed)
  • Quez Watkins (97 Speed)
  • Anthony Schwartz (96 Speed)
  • Christian Watson (96 Speed)
  • Mecole Hardman (96 Speed)
  • Tyquan Thorton (96 Speed)

Line any single one of those players up against Devon Allen, and I know who I’m placing my money on.

In the past few offseasons, we’ve seen players such as Tyreek Hill or D.K. Metcalf talk about racing in the offseason to see who is the fastest. I’d like to throw Allen’s hat in the ring. It would be fun to watch him leave the others in the dust.

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Jevon Holland leads seven Pro Ducks in first Madden 24 ratings release

Jevon Holland leads seven Pro Ducks in first Madden 24 ratings release

As the football season draws nearer, you can feel the anticipation start to grow for both the college and professional games.

One of the best times of each offseason — an event that truly shows the season is around the corner — is when the ratings for the newest EA Sports Madden video game are released. This shows how each player in the NFL is viewed, with numbers be assessed for their skill values.

EA Sports smartly draws out the ratings release over an entire week, working hard to grab as much of the news cycle as possible. We will oblige.

On Monday, it was wide receivers and safeties who saw their numbers get called. Going through the ranks of Oregon Ducks in the NFL, there are a total of seven players who qualify for this group. Unsurprisingly, it is Miami Dolphins S Jevon Holland who leads the way in that group. Here are the ratings from Monday:

Player Name Team Name Overall
Jevon Holland Miami Dolphins 84
Verone McKinley III Miami Dolphins 65
Bennett Williams Miami Dolphins N/A
Brady Breeze Detroit Lions 65
Chase Cota Detroit Lions N/A
Devon Allen Philadelphia Eagles 60
Johnny Johnson III Houston Texans N/A

Obviously, with some players like Cota, Williams, and JJ3, the game is waiting until they officially make the 90-man roster to offer them a rating for the game. Should that happen, we will see how they are rated.

As the week goes on, we will continue to update as player ratings are released for Pro Ducks.

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Wyndham Clark wins US Open; becomes first Oregon Duck to win PGA major championship

The first Duck to ever do it.

Wyndham Clark won the U.S. Open on Sunday, becoming the first Oregon alum to ever win a major championship on the PGA Tour.

He entered Sunday with a share of the lead at the U.S. Open, and he left on Sunday evening with some hardware to add to the trophy case.

Wyndham Clark, a former Oregon Duck great, won his first-ever major championship at the U.S. Open in Los Angeles on Sunday afternoon, outlasting Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler — two of the top three ranked players in the world.

Clark is now the first Oregon Duck to ever win a major championship on the PGA Tour.

Clark entered Saturday in the final pairing, tied with Rickie Fowler at 10-under par. He shot an even-par 70 on the final day to take home the title.

Earlier this year, Clark won his first-ever PGA Tour event at the Wells Fargo Championship and just added one of the most prestigious awards to his trophy case a couple of months later.

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Trailer released for Netflix’s ‘Quarterback’ documentary about Marcus Mariota, other NFL QBs

2022 was a wild year for Oregon Ducks’ legend Marcus Mariota. Netflix filmed it all for their ‘Quarterback’ documentary. Check out the trailer here.

A few months ago we told you about a new Netflix documentary series that was coming out detailing the lives of a handful of NFL quarterbacks throughout the 2022 football season, titled ‘Quarterbacks.’

Oregon Ducks’ legend Marcus Mariota is one of the several quarterbacks who will be highlighted, alongside Kansas City Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes, and Minnesota Vikings QB Kirk Cousins.

The release date for that series has been announced, and it will premiere on the streaming platform this coming July 12.

The series is said to give unprecedented access into the lives of these players, who were mic’d up for every game, and it premieres this summer.

It was an interesting year for Mariota in particular, as he had a chance to get his NFL career back on the right track after serving as a backup for Derek Carr for several years with the Raiders. Mariota was named the starting QB for the Falcons before the year and played in 13 games, throwing for 15 TD and 9 INT.

Mariota was eventually benched for rookie QB Desmond Ridder, and he soon left the team once his wife gave birth to their first child.

You can watch the full trailer for the documentary here:

It will be interesting to see the behind-the-scenes footage for this year in Mariota’s life, and you can guarantee that every Oregon fan will be tuned in.

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Report: Payton Pritchard has asked Boston Celtics to trade him

Pritchard played just 13.4 minutes per game this past season, where he averaged 5.6 points, 1.3 assist, and 1.8 rebounds — all the lowest of his career.

One of the many former Oregon Ducks who has found a path to success in the NBA is Payton Pritchard, who used the past couple of seasons to stake out his spot as a valuable role player for the Boston Celtics.

However, it appears that Pritchard is wanting to play elsewhere going forward.

Though he has been productive when on the floor, Pritchard has seen his opportunity diminish over the past season, where he averaged just 13 minutes per game, the fewest of his NBA career. In those minutes, Pritchard averaged 5.6 points, 1.3 assists, and 1.8 rebounds — all the lowest of his career.

The Celtics had a great season in 2023, entering the playoffs as the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference before losing to the Miami Heat in game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals. While they found great success, there is an expectation that some major changes could come in the next couple of months.

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Projected contracts for Oregon football’s 11 NFL rookies

Which Ducks are making what in the NFL, and how hefty were those signing bonuses?

One of the coolest things about the NFL Draft each year is that not only do you get to see some of your favorite players achieve their childhood dreams with the opportunity to play in the league, but it also allows them some financial freedom.

Rookie contracts in the NFL may not be as lucrative as a second or third contract, but it sure is more money than most players were making in college via NIL deals.

With the dust now settled around the draft, we wanted to go back and see what type of contracts and signing bonuses the 11 Oregon Ducks who were either drafted or signed to an NFL team inked over the past week, and how hefty those signing bonuses were. All of the numbers come from Spotrac.com.

Here’s a look: