Best Oregon Ducks Football Players of All Time
Our opinionated ranking of the players who defined the program. Stats verified, takes our own.
The 10 greatest Oregon Ducks football players of all time, ranked. Marcus Mariota is #1. Penei Sewell is the best offensive lineman in college football history. You will disagree with at least two of these. Good.
OPINION-BASED RANKINGS
We weighted program impact, individual dominance, NFL draft position, and career achievements. We also weighted the "would Oregon be the same without them?" factor. You will disagree with at least two of these. Good.1
Marcus Mariota QB | 2012-2014
There is no debate here. Marcus Mariota is the greatest Duck to ever suit up. The Heisman Trophy in 2014 was just the exclamation point on what everyone in Eugene already knew. 53 total touchdowns in a single season. A 38-game stretch where Oregon went 36-2 with him at quarterback. He turned Oregon from "a good program" into a national title contender. Went #2 overall to Tennessee and became the first Oregon player taken that high since Norm Van Brocklin in 1949. The program was one thing before Mariota and something completely different after.
Best season: 2012 (#1 Power Index, 12-1)
2
Joey Harrington QB | 1999-2001
Before Joey Harrington, Oregon was a solid Pac-10 program that nobody outside the West Coast took seriously. After Joey Harrington, Oregon had a billboard in Times Square. Captain Comeback led the Ducks to the 2001 Fiesta Bowl, demolished Colorado 38-16, and finished #2 in the country. He put his face on a New York City billboard to campaign for the Heisman (finished 4th). Went #3 overall to the Lions. Say what you want about his NFL career, but Harrington made Oregon a brand.
Best season: 2001 (#8 Power Index, 11-1)
3
Penei Sewell OT | 2018-2020
The best offensive lineman in college football history. That is not hyperbole. Penei Sewell won the Outland Trophy as a sophomore in 2019 and was so dominant that he opted out of the 2020 season and still went #7 overall. Watch the tape from that 2019 season. Defenders just stopped trying to go through him. Now he is a 4x Pro Bowler with the Lions and the best young tackle in the NFL. Oregon has produced great players at every position. Nobody was more dominant at theirs than Sewell.
Best season: 2019 (#6 Power Index, 12-2)
4
Justin Herbert QB | 2016-2019
Justin Herbert could have left after his junior year and been a top-10 pick. He came back for his senior season because he loved Eugene. Rewarded Oregon with a Rose Bowl victory over Wisconsin, earning MVP honors in a comeback win for the ages. Went #6 overall to the Chargers and has become one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL. Herbert was quieter than Mariota, less flashy than Harrington, but his arm talent might be the best Oregon has ever produced.
Best season: 2019 (#6 Power Index, 12-2)
5
LaMichael James RB | 2009-2011
LaMichael James was the engine of Chip Kelly's blur offense. 5,082 career rushing yards, which still stands as the Oregon record. Won the Doak Walker Award in 2010 when he ran for 1,731 yards and 21 touchdowns. He was the reason defenses couldn't load the box against Oregon. Small, explosive, and absolutely fearless between the tackles. Three straight 1,500-yard seasons. The most productive running back in program history and the weapon that made the Chip Kelly era go.
Best season: 2010 (#2 Power Index, 12-1)
6
Haloti Ngata DT | 2002-2005
The most dominant defensive player Oregon has ever had. Haloti Ngata was a force of nature at defensive tackle, the kind of player who required double teams on every snap and still got through. Went #12 overall to the Ravens and became a 5x Pro Bowler and Super Bowl champion. Oregon has historically been known as an offensive program. Ngata is the exception that proves the rule. When people ask who the best defensive Duck ever was, there is only one answer.
Best season: 2005 (#11 Power Index, 10-2)
7
Kenny Wheaton CB | 1993-1996
One play. That is all it took. November 12, 1994. Washington driving to win the game and clinch the Rose Bowl. Kenny Wheaton jumps the route, intercepts, 97 yards the other way. Jerry Allen screaming "Kenny Wheaton is gonna score!" on the radio. Oregon goes to the Rose Bowl for the first time since 1958. The modern era of Oregon football starts right there. Every big win, every recruiting class, every national championship appearance traces its lineage back to that one interception.
Best season: 1994 (#24 Power Index, 9-4)
8
De'Anthony Thomas ATH | 2011-2013
The Black Mamba. The fastest player in college football during his time at Oregon, and it was not close. De'Anthony Thomas could score from anywhere on the field on any play. The 2012 Rose Bowl against Wisconsin is the signature game: 2 carries, 155 yards, 2 touchdowns. A 91-yard TD and a 64-yard TD. In a Rose Bowl. He was the ultimate weapon in Chip Kelly's arsenal, the player who made defensive coordinators lose sleep. You could not game plan for that kind of speed.
Best season: 2012 (#1 Power Index, 12-1)
9
Kayvon Thibodeaux DE | 2019-2021
Kayvon Thibodeaux was the #1 recruit in the country when he chose Oregon, and he lived up to every bit of that hype. The most talented edge rusher the program has ever produced. 19 sacks in three seasons despite being double-teamed on nearly every snap. Went #5 overall to the Giants in 2022. Oregon has not historically been a defensive line factory, which makes what Thibodeaux did even more impressive. He chose Eugene over every blue blood in the country and dominated from day one.
Best season: 2019 (#6 Power Index, 12-2)
10
Dennis Dixon QB | 2004-2007
The greatest what-if in Oregon history. Dennis Dixon was the Heisman frontrunner in 2007. Oregon was #2 in the country. The offense was unstoppable. Then his knee buckled at Arizona on November 15, and the season collapsed. If Dixon stays healthy, Oregon almost certainly plays for the national championship that year. He never got the individual awards, but ask anyone who watched that 2007 team and they will tell you: Dixon at his peak was as good as any quarterback who has ever played at Oregon.
Best season: 2005 (#11 Power Index, 10-2)
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Frequently Asked Questions
Marcus Mariota is our #1. The only Heisman Trophy winner in Oregon history, 53 total touchdowns in 2014, and a 36-2 stretch as starter. He changed what the program believed was possible. See our full ranking above.
Oregon has one Heisman Trophy winner: Marcus Mariota in 2014. He received 90.92% of the vote, the second-highest percentage in Heisman history at the time. Dante Moore is expected to be a preseason Heisman favorite in 2026.
Haloti Ngata (DT, 2002-2005) is our pick for the best defensive Duck ever. #12 overall pick, 5x Pro Bowler, Super Bowl champion with the Ravens. Kayvon Thibodeaux (#5 overall, 2022) is the top edge rusher.
Oregon has 58 active players on NFL rosters, including Justin Herbert (Chargers), Penei Sewell (Lions), and Kayvon Thibodeaux (Giants). See the full list on our NFL Ducks page.
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