The Duke Blue Devils have landed an intriguing defender in the transfer portal, and he should fill a big need.
The Duke Blue Devils won the ACC championship and defeated Arizona State in the Sun Bowl this year, but it certainly wasn't because of their defense.
Duke finished near the bottom of the ACC in both yards and points allowed in 2025, relying heavily on an explosive offense led by star quarterback Darian Mensah.
To make matters worse, cornerback Chandler Rivers, one of the Blue Devils' top defensive players, is heading into the NFL Draft.
Duke understood heading into the transfer portal that it would have to address its porous defense, and it has already gotten started with a significant addition.
With Rivers departing, the Blue Devils have bagged a potential replacement, landing former Western Kentucky cornerback Dylan Flowers in the portal, via John Watson of 247 Sports.
Flowers registered 33 tackles, four passes defended and a defensive touchdown in 13 games with the Hilltoppers this past season.
Dylan Flowers attempts to make a tackle. Credit: Stephen Lew-Imagn Images.The fifth-year senior actually began his collegiate career at Southern Utah and spent two seasons there before transferring to BYU ahead of 2023. He resided with the Cougars for one year, where he played in just one game before transferring to Western Kentucky.
Duke went 9-5 this season and won its third bowl game in four years. In fact, the Blue Devils are 6-1 in their last seven bowl games dating back to 2015.
There is no question that Duke is an ascending football program, having qualified for four straight bowl appearances for just the second time in school history.
Not only that, but the Blue Devils' conference title marked their first outright championship since 1962, demonstrating just how far the team has come in recent years.
Suddenly, Duke has become a force in the portal, as it landed Mensah and wide receiver Cooper Barkate — who ultimately posted a 1,000-yard campaign at Durham in 2025 — last year.
Given how weak the ACC has become outside of Miami, the Blue Devils stand a chance to make significant noise in the conference in the coming seasons.
Of course, Duke will still need to score more victories in the transfer portal in order to bolster its defense heading into 2026.