A'Mauri Washington has already become one of the most imposing interior defenders in college football, and Cbs Sports just put a number on it. Brad Crawford ranked the Oregon tackle No. 5 on his list of the nation's most feared defenders ahead of the 2026 season.
Washington, a six-foot-three, 330-pound senior starter for the Ducks, is coming off a season in which he recorded 33 tackles and 1.5 sacks while collecting 33 stops and seven passes defended in a third-year sophomore campaign. Crawford wrote that Washington is one of several returning senior starters for Oregon at the line of scrimmage, and said few interior defenders are as disruptive snap-for-snap. He added that Washington consistently collapses the pocket from the interior, a problem for quarterbacks trying to step up against Oregon's edge pressure.
The ranking matters because Oregon enters this season with the speed and agility to chase a College Football Playoff national championship, but the Ducks still have to prove they can play with more physicality. That is where Washington fits. Crawford said Washington's value goes beyond the numbers because he eats double teams, clogs rushing lanes and creates cleaner opportunities for linebackers behind him, all of them veterans and highly talented in their own right.
Dan Lanning has been clear that Washington's next step is not about size or talent. It is about how long he can sustain his edge. The Oregon coach said, "It starts with size and explosive power. I think this guy's extremely explosive," and added that Washington had to improve his competitive stamina and his ability to go harder for longer. Lanning said Washington recognized early that this was a limiting factor and has since worked to learn the system and become more disruptive in the right spots.
That is why Washington is more than a headline on a preseason list. If he turns into the elite enforcer Oregon believes he can be, he could work his way up the 2027 draft board and become the kind of interior force that changes how opponents attack the Ducks. The pressure is on Oregon to back up its speed with real trench force, and Washington may be the player who decides whether that balance is finally enough.
There is also a sharper edge to the conversation in Eugene. Indiana won the national championship in January after beating Oregon twice last season, and Miami reached the CFP title game by building physicality in the trenches. Oregon knows the standard now. Speed can get a team deep into January, but the teams that finish the job usually win the line of scrimmage when it matters most.
