Oregon Ducks Wide Receivers Ranked After Evan Stewart Injury

The Oregon Ducks will go into the 2025-26 college football season with a mostly brand-new wide receiver room.

Freshman Ducks receiver Dakorien Moore is expected to compete for the No. 1 role, while returners like Gary Bryant Jr. and Justius Lowe will attempt to give Ducks quarterback the weapons needed to win a national championship.

Dan Lanning Oregon Ducks Dakorien Moore Big Ten Wide Receiver group Justius Lowe Gary Bryant Jr — Oregon head coach Dan Lanning looks to the clock towards the end of the first half as the Oregon Ducks face the Ohio State Buckeyes Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2025, in the quarterfinal of the College Football Playoff at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif. | Ben Lonergan/The Register-Guard / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

College football writer Phil Steele recently ranked his top-25 wide receiver groups in the country, and he has the Oregon Ducks' wide receiver room listed at No. 10. Steele did not take Ducks receiver Evan Stewart's injury into account, however.

Oregon will have its hands full in its task to replace the production of Stewart as well as the production left behind by Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Tez Johnson, who drafted in the seventh round of the 2025 NFL Draft. Johnson finished his final season with the Ducks with 83 receptions for 898 yards and 10 touchdowns.

Without Stewart, would Oregon's group of receivers still be ranked No. 10. Would the Ducks fall out of the top-25 completely?

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Ducks receiver Justius Lowe is the biggest returning name in the wide receiver room. Lowe caught 21 passes for 203 yards and caught his lone touchdown against Illinois. Other Oregon receivers like Jeremiah McClellan and Kyler Kasper could be in store for breakout seasons now that Stewart is sidelined for the indefinite future.

Still, the Ducks are expected to rely on Moore, who was the No. 1 wide receiver recruit in the class of 2025. Moore has been tabbed to have a breakout season similar to the one Buckeyes receiver Jeremiah Smith had in 2024.

Jeremiah Smith Ohio State Buckeyes Oregon Ducks Dan Lanning Gary Bryant Jr Justius Lowe Big Ten — Ohio State Buckeyes wide receiver Jeremiah Smith (4) takes the field for football training camp at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center on Aug. 1, 2025. | Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Ducks will face four of the teams listed in the top 25 of Steele’s list. Penn State is ranked at No. 11, USC at No. 13, and Oregon’s rivals to the north, Washington, at No. 25.

Three of the top-10 receiver groups in Steele’s list are in the Big Ten. Ohio State takes the No. 1 spot. Buckeyes receiver Jeremiah Smith certainly has a claim as the No. 1 receiver in the entire country, and Buckeyes No. 2 wideout Carnell Tate would be the No. 1 receiver on a plethora of teams across college football.

Indiana is listed at No. 9, just ahead of Oregon in Steele’s top-25. The Hoosiers return two starting wideouts in Elijah Sarratt and Omar Cooper, who combined for 15 touchdowns last season. The Ducks will have the opportunity to go against both of them when they host the Hoosiers at Autzen Stadium in October.

Here is the official list compiled by Steele:

No. 1 Ohio State
No. 2 Clemson
No. 3 LSU
No. 4 Alabama
No. 5 Texas
No. 6 Auburn
No. 7 Texas Tech
No. 8 Georgia
No. 9 Indiana
No.10 Oregon
No. 11 Penn State
No. 12 Louisville
No. 13 USC
No. 14 Notre Dame
No. 15 Michigan State
No. 16 Ole Miss
No. 17 Georgia Tech
No. 18 Florida
No. 19. TCU
No. 20 Arizona State
No. 21 Baylor
No. 22 Florida State
No. 23 Miami
No. 24 UTSA
No. 25 Washington