It was an up-and-down season for the Oregon defense in 2022. The Ducks struggled as a team and individually to the new scheme Dan Lanning and his coordinators Tosh Lupoi and Matt Powledge installed.
But to no surprise, Christian Gonzalez was one of the Ducks superstars on the defensive end of the ball. But to some surprise, safety Bryan Addison was just a little bit better, according to the PFF rating system. Addison was Oregon’s best cover guy and it wasn’t even close. His rating was nearly five points better than Gonzalez and that’s what put Addison’s overall defensive rating over the top.
While there were some highlights, there were some disappointments.
Noah Sewell stands out. Although his overall rating was 0.2 points better than last season, the Duck linebacker played almost 300 less snaps this season. Sewell’s run defense was seven points less and his pass rush rating went from 88.6 to just 73.5.
As a team overall, the Ducks’ defensive rating went from 74.6 in 2021 to 79.0 in 2022 under Lanning and his staff. Check out the top 10 defensive players in 2022, according to PFF.