When Dan Lanning touched foot in Eugene to take over as the new head coach, the Oregon Ducks were at a transition point. While the program had achieved solid success under Mario Cristobal in the years preceding it, the transition to the next level was waning.
After years of sending a handful of players to the NFL through the draft — four in 2019, four in 2020, and five in 2021 — the Ducks hit a low point in 2022, with Kayvon Thibodeaux standing as the only Oregon player to be drafted. It marked a pivotal moment for both Lanning and new defensive coordinator Tosh Lupoi, a point they would refer back to many times down the road.
As Lupoi would say on Tuesday, they took it as a message that they needed to roll up their sleeves and get to work.
"Our first season here, we had six players drafted," Lupoi said. "In the second season here, we had eight players drafted, which broke the Oregon record. We'll have no less than 10 players drafted in this draft."
With the 2025 NFL draft just days away, it could be another banner showing for Lanning and his program. A total of 12 players were invited to the NFL combine, and 23 are in the mix for teams to select this week. Many will hear their names called, while others take the chance to sign as undrafted free agents after the event. At the end of the day, the list of Ducks in the NFL is going to grow exponentially.
"I think it's embodies this program, and that growth mindset," Lupoi said. "The goal is, whatever the number gets set at, we'll try to reset that and break it the following season."
While Lupoi may be examining the overall numbers and their implications for the program, as well as how they present success to recruits on the trail, watching these players move on to the next level is personal for offensive coordinator Will Stein. A year ago, when his QB Bo Nix heard his name called by the Denver Broncos in the first round, Stein got the opportunity to experience that joy in person.
"I'll never forget being at a Bo's draft party and watching the reaction of not just Bo, but his dad, his grandfather, his parents," Stein said on Tuesday. "Like it's such a special moment for our guys, and it's a culmination of hard work and dedication and just sticking to the process."
As is the case almost every year, the weekend of the draft falls next to Oregon's spring game on the calendar, making it so the coaches are a bit preoccupied. At the same time, some of their favorite players will experience the thrill of a coveted phone call.
Stein says that he's going to pay attention as best as he can over the next few days, but at the forefront of his mind, understandably, are the players in Eugene, and the recruits in town for the weekend. The two events — Oregon's spring game and the draft — can go hand in hand, though, with success in one boosting the other.
"We should have a record number of guys drafted, from what we're hearing, which is huge for us," Stein said. "It shows that what we do here works. We win a lot of games, we develop guys, and we get them to the National Football League."
Stein said that to a room full of reporters on Tuesday afternoon, but you can bet that he wants recruits, and the college football world at large to hear him.
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This article originally appeared on Ducks Wire: Oregon football expects to build on record 2025 NFL draft results
