The Oregon Ducks have come a long way from 2022 when defensive end Kayvon Thibodeaux was their only selection in the NFL draft, seeing six players selected in 2023 and eight players selected last year. This year, though, the Ducks have a chance at doing something they haven’t done in 10 years: land two players in the first round of the draft. They last accomplished this feat in 2015, when Marcus Mariota and Arik Armstead were taken within the top 17 picks. 
The two players that could make it happen this year are defensive tackle Derrick Harmon and offensive tackle Josh Conerly Jr. Harmon announced on his Instagram that he would be forgoing his redshirt senior year to declare for the 2025 NFL Draft, while Conerly announced the forgoing of his senior season on X.
Harmon has come a long way since committing to Michigan State as a three-star defensive lineman out of Loyola HS (MI). His biggest offers came from the Spartans, Ole Miss, and Purdue, while he received a few others from Group of 5 and FCS programs, as well. In East Lansing, Harmon redshirted his freshman year after only appearing in four games. He began to make an impact as a redshirt freshman, making 30 total tackles, including three for loss and two sacks in 12 appearances with five starts. He doubled his start total as a redshirt sophomore, racking up 40 total tackles, four tackles for loss, and 1.5 sacks.
Following a solid 2023 campaign, Harmon entered the transfer portal after the Spartans fired then-head coach Mel Tucker. After taking visits to Oregon, Ohio State, and Auburn, he opted to withdraw his name from the portal and remain with new head coach Jonathan Smith. When he re-entered the transfer portal in April, he immediately became the most-coveted defensive lineman available and eventually committed to the Ducks.
In Eugene, Harmon made an immediate impact, taking his play to another level and performing as one of the top interior defenders in the country. In his single season as a Duck, he set new career highs in tackles (45), tackles for loss (11), sacks (5.0), passes defensed (4), and forced fumbles (2). The stats only tell half the story of how disruptive Harmon is as an interior defender. His quickness and power make him a menace inside the tackles, but he’s handled his own lining up over tackles plenty this season, giving him versatility to play all over the line.
Conerly was the gem of the Ducks 2022 signing class. Coming out of Rainier Beach HS (WA), Conerly was the team’s only five-star recruit and the top tackle in the country, per 247Sports. With offers from all over, Conerly took his time with the recruiting process, taking official visits with Michigan, Oklahoma, Miami, Oregon, and USC. Many believed he was destined to become a Trojan, but he shocked the recruiting world and committed to the Ducks.
Conerly didn’t start at all as a true freshman, but he was too talented to keep off the field. He played often on special teams and established himself as a reliable extra lineman in jumbo packages. It was as a sophomore that Conerly became a full-time starter at left tackle. He was considered the key factor of an offensive line that gave up the fewest sacks in the nations (5) and the third-fewest tackles for loss (44). In 2024, he was once again served as the prime example of dependability. He only allowed one sack and five pressures this season.
While Harmon is an almost guaranteed first-rounder, Conerly will be the deciding factor of whether or not the school can get two players selected on Day 1. The talk around Conerly reminds me of the talk around former Oklahoma offensive tackle Orlando Brown Jr. Brown was polarizing in that his technique and combine performance were considered downright poor, but he got the job done time and again. Conerly’s technique is raw when hand-fighting, and he could stand to get stronger, but elite recovery speed has saved him from otherwise damning attributes.
As mentioned before, Harmon should be securely in the first round. ESPN’s Mel Kiper lists him as the 18th-best overall prospect, and he and his colleagues (Matt Miller, Jordan Reid, and Field Yates) all have him as either the No. 2 or No. 3 defensive tackle prospect. The Athletic’s Dane Brugler has Harmon as the second-best interior defender and the 14th-best prospect. Conerly ranges from the third- to sixth-best offensive tackle prospect among the ESPN analysts, while Brugler has him as the fifth tackle and the 33rd-best overall prospect.
Harmon and Conerly will both be hoping to hear their names on the first night of the draft. Harmon can likely book his ticket to Lambeau for the event. Conerly may be just on the outside looking in for now, but a strong pre-draft performance, combined with a relatively weak class of offensive linemen, could result in a boost into the first round.