Boasting rare explosiveness at 330 pounds, A’Mauri Washington is surging up draft boards as he aims to transform raw athletic potential into first-round dominance for the Oregon Ducks.
Oregon is getting a lot of buzz for having one of the better rosters, if not the best roster, in college football for the upcoming season.
Most of that chatter is about the offense, which will return likely 2026 first-round pick Dante Moore, who will target receivers Dakorien Moore and Evan Stewart.
But the defense has some capable players. Minnesota safety Koi Perich is expected to be an elite defender in the secondary, taking the place that Dillon Thieneman occupied last season before going in the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft.
Mike Renner of CBS Sports named A'Mauri Washington as the No. 5 best defensive player for the 2027 draft class. Washington recorded 33 tackles and 1.5 sacks last season.
“A'Mauri Washington is a tailor-made athlete for the modern nose tackle role," Renner said. "He has rare explosiveness at 6-foot-3 and 330 pounds, which helps him live in opposing backfields.
"Washington was already a fringe first-rounder on tape last year after his first season as a full-time starter, but he chose to return because he has the tools to go much higher."
Oregon head Coach Dan Lanning noted that Washington has made progress in his development in the spring. He's working on getting his motor going for longer periods of play.
“It starts with size and explosive power. I think this guy's extremely explosive,” Lanning said, via Sports Illustrated. “I think what he had to work on as he got here was his competitive stamina, the ability to go harder for longer.”
“And those moments, I think he recognized earlier, ‘Okay, it's gonna be a limiting factor. This is one of my strengths. This is a limiting factor.’ And then his ability to learn our system and be extremely disruptive, be where he's supposed to be at."
Lanning believes Washington will be more of a leader this season.
The Ducks will need Washington to step up and have a breakout season. Frankly, he doesn't have a lot of production (45 tackles and 1.5 sacks) during his first three seasons at the college level.
If Washington wants to be a Day 1 pick, he'll have to make serious changes to his style of play for this fall.