Oregon's Brandon Finney Jr. Earns Spot on Elite Top 10 List

PFF college revealed their top returning cornerbacks in college football for the 2026 season. Oregon Ducks cornerback Brandon Finney Jr. may be only heading into his second season in college football, but is already towards the top of this list.

PFF Ranks Top 10 Returning Cornerbacks

oregon ducks cornerback brandon finney jr college football playoff cornerback top 10 rankings pff grade big ten freshman — Notre Dame cornerback Leonard Moore returns an interception for a touchdown in the first half of a NCAA football game against Syracuse at Notre Dame Stadium on Saturday, Nov. 22, 2025, in South Bend. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Here is PFF’s top 10 rankings of retuning cornerbacks this season:

1. Leonard Moore, Notre Dame Fighting Irish
2. Dijon Lee Jr., Alabama Crimson Tide
3. Brandon Finney Jr., Oregon Ducks
4. Jontez Williams, USC Trojans
5. Kelley Jones, Mississippi State Bulldogs
6. Jamari Sharpe, Indiana Hoosiers
7. Jyaire Hill, Michigan Wolverines
8. Evan Johnson, BYU Cougars
9. DJ Pickett, LSU Tigers
10. Ellis Robinson IV, Georgia Bulldogs

At the top of this list is Notre Dame junior, Leonard Moore. Moore is going into year three with the Fighting Irish. He was named a Freshman All-American in 2024 and a Unanimous All-American in 2025.

Finney comes in at No. 3.

“His 42.3 passer rating allowed was the lowest among qualified Big Ten outside cornerbacks. He also missed just four tackles all season and recorded three interceptions, two of which came in his standout CFP performance against Texas Tech,” Max Chadwick of PFF said about Finney. “(The Ducks secondary) should remain in excellent shape with Finney leading the way.”

Brandon Finney Jr. signed with Oregon as a four-star recruit in their 2025 high school recruiting class. As a true freshman for the Ducks in 2025, Finney starred. He played in all 15 games, tallying 42 total tackles, three interceptions (one returned for a touchdown), eight passes defended, three tackles for loss, one sack, one fumble recovery, and two forced fumbles.

He was named Second-team All-Big Ten and was also the 2026 Orange Bowl Defensive MVP for the two interceptions against Texas Tech. Oregon’s defense was dominant in that game, shutting out the Red Raiders en route to an appearance in the College Football Playoff semifinal.

Oregon's Defensive Outlook

The Oregon Ducks look like they'll have another dominant defensive unit in 2026. This will be led by their defensive front, headlined by outside linebackers Matayo Uiagalelei and Teitum Tuioti alongside defensive lineman A'Mauri Washington.

In 2025, Oregon's defense allowed 17.9 points per game, the 12 fewest in all of FBS. There will be some changes that they will have to adjust to and it starts at the top with defensive coordinator.

Tosh Lupoi had been Oregon's defensive coordinator ever since Dan Lanning took over as Ducks coach back in 2022. Following the 2025 season, Lupoi was hired by the California Golden Bears to be their next head coach. That left an opening. Instead of looking elsewhere to fill this position, Lanning beleived the right person for the job was still in the building.

Lanning promoted Chris Hampton to defensive coordinator. Hampton has been with Oregon since 2023 as a co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach under Lupoi.

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