Oregon Ducks Quarterbacks Showing Off in NFL

Denver Broncos signal caller Bo Nix faced off against Justin Herbert and the Los Angeles Chargers during week 3 in what’s becoming one of Ducks fans’ favorite NFL games of the year.

Oregon’s 2014 Heisman Trophy winner Marcus Mariota joined the two former Ducks as a week 3 starting quarterback with Washington Commanders’ Jayden Daniels out. It marked the first time since 2007 that Oregon saw three former quarterbacks start the same week in the NFL.

Cleveland Browns backup quarterback Dillon Gabriel joins Nix, Herbert and Mariota at the professional level. While Nix and Herbert have established themselves as starters, Gabriel came off the bench and threw his first career touchdown in week 2.

Mariota, meanwhile, is arguably one of the league’s top backups. With his starting opportunity against his former team the Las Vegas Raiders, Mariota threw a touchdown on 207 yards and ran for a touchdown.

Gabriel and Nix were both selected into the NFL in the last two drafts. That means that the first two starting quarterbacks to begin coach Dan Lanning’s tenure with Oregon ended up in the league.

Between the Ducks’ success in developing quarterbacks to NFL Draft picks and their ability to earn starting nods (or at least important roles), playing quarterback for Oregon seems to be increasingly attractive to top recruits, given the implications.

Another Oregon Heisman Finalist?

While it was a big week for former Oregon quarterbacks, Moore gave a career-high performance at Autzen Stadium.

Moore finished with four touchdowns, 305 passing yards and he rushed for a career high of 53 yards against Oregon State. Moore currently has 11 touchdowns on 962 passing yards and a 74.7 completion percentage this season.

“We're just having fun with the game of football. At the end of the day, forget stats, forget fame,” Moore said. “The main thing is that we just dreamed about being at the University of Oregon, we're having fun, we're flying around, and playing for our brother. So that's the biggest thing has been taking away from these four weeks. We're excited to keep going.”

The current man under center for Oregon is listed in the top five in Heisman Trophy odds through the first four weeks of the season. The Ducks saw Nix in 2023 and Gabriel in 2024 finish third in Heisman voting.

If Moore sustains his level of play and Oregon finishes with no more than a couple of losses on its record, another trip to the Heisman ceremony would be likely for the program’s quarterback. It would be the sixth Heisman finalist in Oregon’s history, with five of those being quarterbacks.