Oregon spring football position preview: Edge rusher

Oregon is set to open spring practices on March 10. There is plenty of excitement surrounding Dan Lanning’s program, and there is no shortage of storylines related to the Ducks’ roster. In the coming days, ScoopDuck will have you covered with position-by-position previews that highlight a key returner, key newcomer, and a breakout candidate at each spot.

Next up: the edge rushers.

Previously:

• Quarterbacks
• Running backs
• Wide receivers
• Tight ends
• Offensive line
• Defensive line
• Inside linebackers

Scholarship players

• Brandon Buckner (Sophomore)
• Jonathan Flowe (R-Fr)
• Mase Funa (Junior)
• Adrian Jackson (R-Junior)
• Treven Ma’ae (R-Sophomore)
• Jabril McNeil (Sophomore)
• Jaden Navarrette (R-Fr)
• Jake Shipley (Sophomore)
• Bradyn Swinson (Sophmore)
• Terrell Tilmon (Sophomore)
• Emar’rion Winston (Signee)

Key returners

Bradyn Swinson

Bradyn Swinson is at an interesting point in his career where he can be labeled as both a breakout candidate and one of Oregon’s more important returning players. The 6-foot-4, 234-pound sophomore is a tremendous athlete who flashed tons of potential early last season.

But he suffered a lower-body injury during Oregon’s Week 2 win at Ohio State and was sidelined for the next five weeks due to a mid-season surgery to repair the injury. By the time he returned, Kayvon Thibodeaux had made a fully healthy return, and the Ducks’ reliance on Swinson was minimized.

But with Thibodeaux now headed for the NFL, Swinson is the ideal player to fill his role on the edge. He’s an explosive, bendy athlete with a tremendous motor who has shown the ability to be a very, very good Pac-12 player.

One of the more interesting developments in the coming months will be watching how specifically Swinson goes about taking the next step in becoming an elite Pac-12 producer.

Mase Funa

Normally we would list a key newcomer here. But Oregon added just one new player at the EDGE position — three-star signee Emar’rion Winston. While Winston is an exciting prospect for the future, he isn’t likely to crack the rotation in 2022. So we’re listing another standout returner here: Mase Funa, a two-year starter who adds some needed stability at the position.

Like Swinson, Funa was also limited by injuries last season. He missed the Week 3 win over Stony Brook because of a foot injury, missed the Week 7 win over Cal with an unspecified injury, and then left the UCLA game with a gruesome-looking leg injury the next week.

He did not miss another game after that, but was clearly playing through knocks and was not at 100 percent. Despite all that, Funa had a really strong season for the Ducks when he was on the field. According to PFF, Funa’s run defense grade of 76.8 was the fifth-best in the Pac-12 among starters.

As long as he is able to make a healthy return from those injuries and stay on the field next season, there’s no reason Funa can’t be an incredibly influential player for the Ducks.

Breakout candidate

Brandon Buckner

Only two EDGE rushers on Oregon’s roster garnered better PFF grades last season than Brandon Buckner did: Thibodeaux and Funa.

It was a limited sample size, of course, as Buckner played just 51 defensive snaps and saw the field in just six games. But as an underside true freshman who was far from the most heralded defensive recruit on Oregon’s roster, Buckner’s 2021 cameo showed that he could have a very impactful future with the Ducks.

Buckner, the son of former NFL defensive tackle Brentson Buckner, is very much a student of the game and has a really advanced skill set for a player as young as he is. That’s due, in large part, to the countless days he and his father spent watching film and fine-tuning the mechanical aspect of his game.

There are a lot of promising players at the EDGE position for the Ducks, but don’t be surprised if Buckner is turning heads by the time fall camp rolls around.