Ducks Attack Message Board Forum

Bruce Feldman of The Athletic and Fox puts out an annual “freaks list” of college athletes. The Ducks had four players on the list (of 100). I would have expected two of them- Sewell and Flowe. But I was surprised to see DJ Johnson at number 5. Apparently his top end speed is more like a receiver, and he has ridiculous strength numbers as well. I hope he has a big year and makes himself a ton of money in the draft. He deserves it for all the position switching he’s done.

The fourth Duck was Christian Gonzalez, the CU transfer.

DJ Johnson is a freak, I think his biggest setback has been the position changes, in reality he could be in the NFL as a TE or DE, but going back and forth certainly has limited his progression. Hoping he plays to his potential this year, good thing is he has a much better coaching staff this year when it comes to helping him play to his potential.

DJ's future clearly lies on the Defensive side of the ball and I'm excited for the Lanning Defense this year because of some of the talented Front 7 guys we've got. Dorlus, Ware-Hudson and Popo should make one heck of a DL for DJ, Sewell, Flowe and Bassa.

Christian* Gonzalez said DJ is one of the four fastest players on the team, which is pretty wild. His football skills aren't as high level, but I really hope he clicks this year and his combine earns him some money in the draft.

Surprises me that Oregon had no freaks on the offensive side of the ball. Hopefully that changes in the near future.

greenyellow wrote:Surprises me that Oregon had no freaks on the offensive side of the ball. Hopefully that changes in the near future.

I noticed that too. Ironic given the perception the average CFB fan has about Oregon. If you think about it, we have had more successful NFL players on defense than on offense over the last 20 years or so.

wlduck wrote:

greenyellow wrote:Surprises me that Oregon had no freaks on the offensive side of the ball. Hopefully that changes in the near future.

I noticed that too. Ironic given the perception the average CFB fan has about Oregon. If you think about it, we have had more successful NFL players on defense than on offense over the last 20 years or so.

And yet, Oregon defenses have been mediocre at best. Goes to show the effect an offensive minded head coach can have on both sides of the ball. I'm excited to finally see a defensive minded head coach.

squintsdd wrote:

wlduck wrote:

greenyellow wrote:Surprises me that Oregon had no freaks on the offensive side of the ball. Hopefully that changes in the near future.

I noticed that too. Ironic given the perception the average CFB fan has about Oregon. If you think about it, we have had more successful NFL players on defense than on offense over the last 20 years or so.

And yet, Oregon defenses have been mediocre at best. Goes to show the effect an offensive minded head coach can have on both sides of the ball. I'm excited to finally see a defensive minded head coach.

2007, 2010 (especially), 2012 and 2019 were all solid defenses.

There were some amazing players throughout the past 15-20 years but not amazing defenses overall. The 2010 and 2019 defenses truly were top 10 nationally though and aren't given their due respect.

The 2005 defense was stellar, and I think had the two ducks with the best NFL careers in that time frame; Haloti Ngata (consensus all american) and Patrick Chung (second team all conference as a redshirt frosh).

OregonFan4Life wrote:DJ Johnson is a freak, I think his biggest setback has been the position changes, in reality he could be in the NFL as a TE or DE, but going back and forth certainly has limited his progression. Hoping he plays to his potential this year, good thing is he has a much better coaching staff this year when it comes to helping him play to his potential.

This won't add much to the discussion, but I recall reading the following somewhere a while back:

Reporter: "DJ, what position do you play?"

DJ: "Football"