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The Oregon Ducks football program has long been a stepping stone towards the NFL and never more so than in recent years, as they’ve churned out dozens of pro prospects within the last five years.
Among those are two players who were featured on CBS Sports’ most recent Top 25 Under 25 rankings.
Coming in at 19th on the list is former Ducks cornerback Christian Gonzalez, who, despite fighting through injuries that limited him to just four games in his rookie season, has made himself into a dependable cover man after being drafted 17th overall in the 2023 NFL Draft by the New England Patriots.
Appearing in 16 games last season, he recorded 59 tackles — 50 of which were solo — and 11 passes defensed to go along with two interceptions.
Gonzalez began his collegiate career as a member of the Colorado Buffaloes for two years before transferring to Oregon ahead of the 2022 season. He blossomed as a member of the Ducks’ secondary, recording 51 total tackles and notching career-highs in passes defensed (seven) and interceptions (four). He was named to the Pac-12’s First-Team All-Defense for his efforts.
Further up on the list at No. 3 is former Oregon offensive tackle Penei Sewell, who quickly established himself as one of the top young tackles in the league after being drafted seventh overall to the Detroit Lions.
Now four seasons into his career, the hulking 6-foot-5, 335-pounder is coming off a second consecutive first-team All-Pro honor and has been named to the Pro Bowl in each of the last three seasons.
The accolades were aplenty during Sewell’s time in Eugene as well, as he was awarded the Outland Trophy (given to the best interior lineman in college football) during his sophomore season in 2019. He also collected the Morris Trophy as the top offensive lineman in the Pac-12 that same year. In 1,376 career snaps for the Ducks, he gave up just a single sack.
Both Gonzalez and Sewell’s successes at Oregon have continued in the pros, catching the attention of the national media and setting the stage for the next batch of Ducks in the NFL.
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