One of the several areas on the Oregon Ducks’ 2023 roster that can stand to add a couple of pieces going forward is the wide receiver position. After losing a handful of players over the last two years, Dan Lanning and Co. have done a nice, job of adding some talented players, but they still have room to grow, especially when it comes to depth.
This offseason, both Traeshon Holden and Tez Johnson were added to the roster. Each presents a different skill set — Holden is more of a big-bodied, physical receiver, while Johnson’s slight frame allows him unique speed and agility in open space — but both can provide major upsides for the Oregon offense.
The one potential downside of bringing in the new guys is current players feeling slighted by the additions.
It’s not a uniquely human experience. At some point in all of our lives, we have likely been worried about being replaced and cast to the side, be it by a friend or in a job situation. With the Ducks’ WR room, that’s always something that you at least have to be aware of. On Saturday afternoon, quarterback Bo Nix talked about the reality of more mouths to feed leading to increased competition among pass-catchers.
“The first thing I did was called Troy Franklin, Kris, and those guys to make sure ‘Hey, like we’re trying to provide competition in the room, we’re trying to provide explosive playmakers,'” Nix said on Saturday after practice. “And the thing is, if you talked to a guy like Troy or Kris, they love that and they don’t shy away from it.”
While the increased competition could mean less of a target share for these players down the road, it’s also likely to bring out the best in them going forward. With more talent to compete with, they will have to rise up to prove good enough to deserve the opportunity. “Iron sharpens iron,” has head coach Dan Lanning often says, and the Ducks are carrying that mentality into spring ball with gusto.
“I think it’s made Kris better. It’s made Troy better. It’s made everybody in that room better,” Nix said. “When they’re getting better, we’re all getting better, I’m getting better, the offense is getting better.”
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