FishDuck Article Administrator No. 1 Share Posted June 9 This is not a conversation I wanted to have about Oregon football in June. In case you missed it, Evan Stewart is expected to miss most (if not all) of the 2025 season due to a torn patellar tendon. Following the injury, he addressed Duck fans with this message: “Don’t put a timeline on me.” As someone who believed in ... Oregon Football: The New WR1 | FishDuck FISHDUCK.COM This is not a conversation I wanted to have about Oregon football in June. In case you missed it, Evan Stewart is expected to miss most (if not... 2 1 2 1 2 Two Sites: FishDuck and the Our Beloved Ducks forum, The only "Forum with Decorum!" And All-Volunteer? What a wonderful community of Duck fans! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Ducky No. 2 Share Posted June 9 IMHO the key to replacing Evan is whomever our starting QB is most comfortable with if they need a play made. There is plenty of talent in the room to choose from, with speed, with size, and for the most part can catch the ball when asked to. There are many schools that would be in serious trouble if this happened to them but I don’t think the Ducks are one of those. Plenty of studs in that group. Go s 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
NJDuck Moderator No. 3 Share Posted June 9 Thanks Alex for a great article! I totally agree with your selections. As mentioned below, others that could step up in a great way. Discussing what comes next after Evan Stewart's injury DEVELOPING: Oregon Football LOSING Evan Stewart to injury in 2025 creates HUGE opportunity for Ducks 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
30Duck Moderator No. 4 Share Posted June 9 "Opportunity" is definitely how Lanning looks at things, sometimes OBD take advantage of them, sometimes they don't, but that is the positive approach. I agree with the idea of Lowe and the observation that there a lot opportunities in Oregon's WR Room, and whatever room Sadiq wants. 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drake Moderator No. 5 Share Posted June 9 The receiver room loses depth and experience, but not a huge drop in potential talent. We will replace a top receiver with 5*, or 4* receiver with less experience, but a high ceiling in potential. If I was a receiver I would be excited about the newest opportunity. This is what these guys should thrive on…the question should be…who wants to step up and be the next 800 to 1,000 yard guy? 1 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Triphibius No. 6 Share Posted June 9 The point I am making is that modern football schemes assign somewhat different roles to players, and individual players are better suited for some roles than others. At the website Football Advantage "Coach Martin" states that the split end or X receiver "will go up against man-to-man pass coverage a lot. Cornerbacks will often line up directly opposite them and try to jam them at the line of scrimmage. To be successful at the position, an X receiver has to be either (1) quick or (2) physical enough to break away from this jam consistently. The X's main role is to work the outside of the field, covering both the widest and deepest portion of the field. " Coach Martin speaks only of receiving, not blocking, by the way. Gresham, McClelland, and Lowe are all bout 6 feet tall and 190 pounds. I believe Lowe is thought to have good acceleration. Kasper is 6' 6" and 210; Dickey is 6' 2" and 205. Neither has been consistent up to this point, although both have suffered injuries that have impeded their development. If Kasper and Dickey disappoint, do OBD have anyone on the roster who is well-suited for the X role? 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
30Duck Moderator No. 7 Share Posted June 9 On 6/9/2025 at 2:02 PM, Triphibius said: Cornerbacks will often line up directly opposite them and try to jam them at the line of scrimmage. To be successful at the position, an X receiver has to be either (1) quick or (2) physical enough to break away from this jam consistently. The X's main role is to work the outside of the field, covering both the widest and deepest portion of the field. " X marks Jeremiah Smith. He said, "You can't cover me 1 on 1" as the saying goes, if it's true it ain't braggin'. 6'3, 219 and OBD were trying to jam him up with CB's who were 5'10, 180. None of OBD's WR's are that, but DeVonta Smith, 6'0 170, won the 2020 Heisman. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AllOregon No. 8 Share Posted June 9 Here is Dickey’s moment to step up to all that prior expectation. Hope he can. If not now, when? 1 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles Fischer Administrator No. 9 Share Posted June 9 As you all know...in the off-season we only have one article a week on FishDuck.com scheduled, although we sometimes get more when blessed with a guest article by Jon Joseph. Thus, I am grateful for the writers, and to Alex Heining for the fun read that gets you pondering... I was pondering the WR issue, and realized that I might have overlooked an important element with a couple of receivers. When you are a junior as Justius Lowe is, or a SENIOR as Malik Bennett or as Gary Bryant Jr. is... you have something to prove. Often we have seen players really emerge when in their final year--to where we hardly recognize the player we knew before. In particular--I have the gut-feel that Gary Bryant Jr. is going to have a B1G year! 1 1 1 2 Mr. FishDuck Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Notalot No. 10 Share Posted June 10 The potential solutions from the WR room are plentiful. Alex has touched upon the obvious, but the room is deeper than that and a dark horse may run to the front of the pack. I project that the Ducks will have guys that get open and can do their things. The larger question looming is what level of production will we get from the QB’s? There is a huge difference in results between great and good. QB play has so much to do with WR production. Go Ducks. The countdown to kickoff continues. 1 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Solar No. 11 Share Posted June 10 On 6/9/2025 at 8:05 AM, Just Ducky said: IMHO the key to replacing Evan is whomever our starting QB is most comfortable with if they need a play made. There is plenty of talent in the room to choose from, with speed, with size, and for the most part can catch the ball when asked to. There are many schools that would be in serious trouble if this happened to them but I don’t think the Ducks are one of those. Plenty of studs in that group. Go s I like your take. QB 's are judge jury and executioner of WR talent. They think a WR isn't open, won't catch it or won't run after the catch to get the yards needed, they throw to someone else. If a WR is not getting balls thrown to them they aren't productive and get replaced. And vice versa, someone is super productive because the ball is coming their way will get more playing time. We don't have enough data to say that Evan Stewart was going to be our starting QB 's favorite target, heck we don't even have a starting QB picked yet. I think the biggest loss with Evan being out is the threat of the home run that would keep safeties from crowding down on underneath routes. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
