​As training camp draws near, several former Oregon Ducks are aiming to raise their profiles on NFL depth charts. After patiently waiting for opportunities and refining their games, a number of Ducks appear poised for breakout campaigns. ESPN’s Ben Solak highlighted breakout contenders for all 32 teams, and two sizable former Ducks on the defensive line in Eugene—Atlanta Falcons defensive lineman Brandon Dorlus and Los Angeles Chargers defensive tackle Jamaree Caldwell—are among those he envisions stepping into bigger roles in 2026.
Dorlus’s journey has been a mix of flashes and gradual development. He starred for the Ducks, but landed in the league in the fourth round of the 2024 NFL Draft, slipping to Atlanta. His rookie season was relatively quiet, but he ramped up production in the latter part of the 2025 season, finishing with 8.3 sacks and 11 tackles for loss. Transitioning from a role on the edge to interior defense has taken time, yet he appears to have found his stride. While at Oregon, Dorlus often lived in the backfield, recording 12 sacks and 27 tackles for loss across his collegiate career, much of that time spent chasing quarterbacks from the edge. He made disruptive plays beyond the stat sheet, shooting through lines to disrupt plays behind the line of scrimmage. If he continues building on what looked like a promising sophomore season, Dorlus could blossom into a standout interior disruptor for the Falcons.
Solak noted that a number of Dorlus’s sacks came as quarterbacks collapsed from the edge forcing the quarterback to climb, but he also emphasized Dorlus’s length and flexibility in shedding blocks late and making tackles away from his frame. The analyst highlighted Dorlus’s effectiveness as a looper or crasher in blitz packages and his talent for bending through the line with a lean frame. While still more tweener than pure versatile, 2025 marked a clear progression of the vision Solak expected to see in 2024. Continued consistency within coordinator Jeff Ulbrich’s scheme could be crucial for Dorlus’s ongoing development and potential breakout.
Caldwell’s ascent has followed a similar arc, though in a different role. A third-round pick last year, he quickly established himself as a rotational presence for the Chargers in the interior defense. The 340-pound tackle excels at filling space at the line, consistently clogging rushing lanes and anchoring against the run. In his first season in Los Angeles, Caldwell tallied 31 tackles, one sack, a forced fumble, and a pass breakup. While his run-stuffing ability stands out, the Chargers appear ready to push Caldwell to contribute more as a pass rusher as well. His versatility allows him to line up at multiple spots across the interior—over the center or over the guard—enhancing the Chargers’ interior line rotation and giving him the opportunity to deliver more impact in 2026.
Solak highlighted Caldwell as a potential standout within a robust defensive tackle rotation. In the third round of the rookie class, Caldwell was nearly neck-and-neck with Teair Tart for interior snaps, finishing with 525 snaps to Tart’s 526. That near-equal distribution underlines Caldwell’s value in the Chargers’ scheme and his potential to grow into a more prominent role, especially as the defense evolves. His ability to play across the interior provides synergy with Tart, who shares a similar degree of versatility. With the Chargers adding Dalvin Tomlinson in free agency—a classic run-stuffing nose tackle—the interior front could become even more dynamic, and Caldwell could be one of the beneficiaries, capitalizing on increased opportunities and improved efficiency.
Looking ahead to 2026, Dorlus and Caldwell seem well-positioned to leverage their recent growth and the evolving schemes around them. If each can sustain the trajectory they showed toward the end of the 2025 season and adapt to the expected roles within their respective defenses, both players could push into the upper tier of contributors on the interior. For Dorlus, the key will be refining balance and rush timing from interior alignments while continuing to leverage his length and the ability to disrupt plays quickly. For Caldwell, the emphasis will be expanding his pass-rush repertoire, maintaining his run-stopping discipline, and capitalizing on coaching and schematic adjustments that maximize his versatility inside.
As training camp unfolds, all eyes will be on these two former Ducks as potential breakout candidates who could help define their teams’ defensive identity in 2026.