Oregon's secondary play a key need for improvement in 2023

Oregon football’s offense is on the straightaway to success. Unfortunately, the Ducks’ defense has some catching up to do.

Specifically, Oregon’s secondary isn’t up to par. The Ducks’ opponents averaged 265 passing yards per game last season, ranking 110th in the nation. The ugly statistic will be the chain that prevents the Ducks from reaching new heights if they don’t fix it this offseason.

“They bring back 65% of the production from a year ago on defense, 65% of their production along with their quarterback on the offensive side of the ball,” On3’s JD PicKell said in the latest episode of “The Hard Count.” “Oregon’s going to have a chance to be really good, but the Achilles heel last year was the secondary.”

Despite its subpar secondary, Oregon had a solid 2022 season. The Ducks went 10-3, only losing to Georgia, Washington and Oregon State, all of which finished in the AP Top 25. With talented additions this offseason, Oregon has a chance to put last season to shame.

This summer, the Ducks welcomed safeties Tysheem Johnson (Ole Miss) and Evan Williams (Fresno State) with open arms. Johnson was a four-star coming out of high school. Williams earned All-Mountain West Second-Team honors last season.

Oregon also beefed up the edges of the field, bringing in cornerback Khyree Jackson (Alabama) on January 27. PicKell could not over-emphasize how vital each of these pickups will be.

“You’ve got to be solid against the pass. That can’t be the way that you lose the game. So for Oregon, if they can be better in the secondary, I like what the rest of the defense brings to the table,” PicKell said. “Oregon’s going to have a chance now in the Pac-12.”

The Pac-12 is one of the most dangerous conferences in the country for secondaries. With quarterbacks like USC‘s Caleb Williams, Washington‘s Michael Penix Jr. and Utah‘s Cam Rising across from them, the Ducks will constantly be playing with fire.

Nonetheless, PicKell believes Oregon can be the team doing the burning.

“The Pac-12 is brutal. It’s also pretty wide open in my mind. Like, USC is definitely the favorite. But, Utah has won the thing the past two years,” PicKell said. “If [Oregon] is able to play better in the secondary, they’re going to be a lot more of a complete team, and complete teams are the teams that win the Pac-12.”

Watch Oregon take its first swing of the season on Sept. 2 against Portland State.