Evan Stewart has chosen to return for his senior year and give our Oregon football program one last shot at a College Football Playoff run with the NFL-level talent out wide. That means the next-up quarterback Dante Moore will have a familiar target to rely on, someone whose potential has only been partially realized in this Oregon offense. Mr. FishDuck took a break from his fun at popular slots games because he has strong feelings about the impact of this key returning receiver for the Ducks.
As a team, Oregon will look a LOT different in 2025. They’ll be tasked with building up a new scheme without the likes of Tez Johnson or Traeshon Holden to offer deep threats downfield and secure chain-moving plays for Moore. Fortunately, head coach Dan Lanning has run a masterclass in recruiting, pairing up new talent with transfer portal acquisitions to reload a roster that most programs would have to rebuild. This new group of receivers offers a rich talent pool of incoming FR/SO that should develop to contribute early, especially with Stewart there to lead the charge.
Nothing opens an offense up quite like having an elite deep threat – Photo Via Zach Bollinger
Stewart came up big in some of the biggest games of this past season (not to mention, making the best catch of 2024 that never counted). I assume we’ll see a ton more of Stewart streaking downfield to the end-zone with Moore’s big arm at the helm. As he offers that veteran presence, expect to see weapons like Dakorien Moore and Malik Benson develop alongside some returning talent in Justius Lowe and Gary Bryant.
Together, they should relieve a running game that will surely miss Jordan James and may have to rely on bigger shots downfield to keep up with an immensely talented B1G conference. Stewart has a history of coming down with 50/50 long-balls, although he has not been used as much in that capacity as his potential would promise. Is this the year, his senior year, when more Bird-Bombs are thrown his direction?
Overall, this receiving corps has a fantastic blend of youth and experience, speed and size to offer Oregon a great shot at running the B1G for the second season in a row. How do you think Stewart will play with Moore this season? Who’s going to be the rising star of the offense that becomes Stewart’s running mate out wide? Will Kenyon Sadiq rise up as a tight end threat to own that spot? Let us know your thoughts in the FishDuck Forum with decorum.
Go Ducks!
Alex Heining
Los Angeles, California
Top Photo By: Steven Chan
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Alex Heining is an Oregon alumni from the graduate class of 2021. After studying sports business and media studies, he has moved into the field of digital marketing as a copywriter and content manager in the Los Angeles area. Still, he loves his Ducks and goes to local high school games all over the Los Angeles and Orange County area to check out new recruits of the future (and a SoFi game or two with the pros). On any given Saturday, expect to find him doing martial arts, playing the guitar, or screaming at the tv over a missed holding penalty.