I know, I know. Trust me. This is kind of ridiculous. I admit it up front. But I promise there’s a point to it.
Before I opened up Christian Caple’s 2025 Depth Chart projection at OnMontlake following the end of training camp open to the media (and public), I decided to make a guess at the 2-deep having read his practice recaps over the last several weeks. My guess was pretty close although that’s inconsequential to this exercise. The point is that it inspired me to try to look at what is the best
depth chart I could make only including players who are likely to be on the team again for the 2026 season.
That of course doesn’t mean those players will be suiting up for Washington in 2026. I’m sure at least a few of them will enter the transfer portal this fall. And there’s almost certainly at least one current 2026 commit who won’t end up signing with the Dawgs who we can’t predict right now. We have no idea yet how the House settlement will end up changing player movement trends in December, if at all. And of course there will be some number of new transfers that will also occupy spots on the 2-deep come next August.
The point (spoiler alert) is that it’s a pretty encouraging depth chart without a lot of spots that appear to have massive holes. There has been talk that Washington is truly aiming for 2026 as the year in which it can truly make noise as a clear College Football Playoff contender. Maybe Washington ends up a year early and threatens here in 2025 but it seems a reasonable target.
That’s in part because the schedule seems like it will shape up nicely in the 2026 season to win a lot of games. There’s still one unknown hole in the non-conference slate but given there’s already Eastern Washington and Washington State on there, I’d expect a lower end mid-major FBS school such as a New Mexico State or UTEP. And Washington has to play 5 conference road games which won’t be easy.
But the Huskies don’t have to play either Ohio State or Michigan. They get Penn State, Iowa, Indiana, and Minnesota all at home. Road games at Nebraska, USC, and Oregon could all easily be a loss but if this roster manages to upgrade through portal movement this offseason then none of those games are likely to see Washington as a double-digit point underdog.
With that said, let’s take a look at what my current projected 2-deep would be at each position for that 2026 season and assess whether Washington is settled, unknown, or needs help.
QUARTERBACK
Starter: Demond Williams Jr.
Backup: Kini McMillan
Depth: Dash Beierly, Derek Zammit (Fr)
This is partly why 2026 seems like the target year for the Washington program. There’s a chance that Demond Williams Jr. breaks out and goes supernova this upcoming season. But it seems likely that he’ll be even better in his 3rd year of college football in 2026. If Williams continues to get better then that’s the year in which Washington goes all-out for a Williams Heisman campaign that drives this whole bus.
Current backup Kai Horton will be out of eligibility so it seems likely the job will go to one of the two true freshmen currently on the roster. Media reports have suggested that Kini McMillan has been the better of the two so far and so projects as the most likely backup right now. But it wouldn’t be a surprise if the Huskies add some additional experience in the portal, especially if someone else transfers out.
RUNNING BACK
Starter: Adam Mohammed
Backup: Brian Bonner (Fr)
Depth: Jordan Washington, Quaid Carr, Julian McMahon, Ansu Sanoe (Fr), Dre Pollard (Fr)
The coaching staff has pretty clearly been grooming Adam Mohammed to be the primary back after Jonah Coleman runs out of eligibility. It will be a huge loss to see Coleman phase out but the Huskies should have plenty of options to choose from. Current class of 2026 commit Brian Bonner is one of the top RB recruits in the country and is the kind of player that should demand touches from day one. There are two new true freshmen in addition to Bonner plus a pair of freshmen this fall in Quaid Carr and Julian McMahon who seem likely to redshirt. I find it unlikely Washington goes into the 2026 season with more than 5 scholarship players at this spot so something will probably have to give based on how usage ends up behind Coleman this fall.
WIDE RECEIVER
Starters: Rashid Williams, Raiden Vines-Bright, Dezmen Roebuck
Backups: Chris Lawson, Audric Harris, Kevin Green
Depth: Justice Williams, Marcus Harris, Deji Ajose, Mason James (Fr), Blaise LaVista (Fr)
Denzel Boston has another year of eligibility after this one but it would probably mean something went terribly wrong this year if he doesn’t head to the draft. I’m hoping for both Boston’s and Washington’s sake that he just is awesome this fall and then moves on to the NFL.
There’s a lot of uncertainty for this upcoming season at that #3 WR spot but it gets cleared up some without Boston in the picture for 2026. Rashid Williams seems entrenched as a starter this year and would hopefully only get better as a redshirt junior in 2026 and would enter that year in the same spot eligibility-wise that Boston is in right now. There are a ton of options for who sees reps as the #3 and #4 receiver right now and only Penn State transfer Omari Evans will be out of eligibility.
The favorites this fall seem to be the true freshmen RVB and Roebuck. But Chris Lawson fared well in spring ball before getting banged up this month and Audric Harris and Kevin Green are well-liked by the staff as well with an extra year or two under their belts. It wouldn’t be a surprise at all to see some movement out given the logjam at this spot but Washington seems to be in a good spot moving forward here as long as their young talent keeps performing in games like they have in practice.
TIGHT END
Starter: Decker DeGraaf
Backup: Austin Simmons
Depth: Kade Eldridge, Charlie Crowell, Baron Naone, Sam Vyhlidal (Fr)
Washington should continue to reap the benefits of giving DeGraaf plenty of playing time last year when he comes back in 2026. All indications are that DeGraaf should be the starter this year after leading all true freshmen in receiving yards at the position as the #2 option last season. If DeGraaf continues to build on that success this fall then he’s a clear All-Conference or better candidate in 2026.
It’s hard to say what happens at the backup spots until we see how this season plays out. Kade Eldridge is the nominal #3 on the roster right now but it seems like Austin Simmons showed flashes this month as a true freshman. Charlie Crowell still isn’t back after suffering a torn ACL last August and we’ll see what Oregon state natives Naone and Vyhlidal look like. This is a position where I could see adding a veteran tight end through the portal for experienced depth if no one sees much time behind DeGraaf and Quentin Moore this fall. But UW will likely be feeling good about this spot no matter what.
OFFENSIVE LINE
Starters: LT- Kodi Greene (Fr), LG- John Mills, C- Landen Hatchett, RG- Paki Finau, RT- Drew Azzopardi
Backups: LT- Soane Faasolo, LG- Dominic Harris (Fr), C- Zach Henning, RG- Champ Taulealea, RT- Jake Flores
Depth: Elishah Jackett, Justin Hylkema, Davit Boyajyan, Lowen Colman-Brusa, Jack Shaffer, Ah Deong Yang (Fr)
It seems very likely right this second that Washington returns three starters from their current offensive line headed into 2026. Kansas State LT transfer Carver Willis and Oklahoma RG transfer Geirean Hatchett are both in their final year of eligibility and are projected to start this fall. The left guard spot is still a little up in the air between John Mills and Paki Finau but if both stay in 2026 then one could potentially slide over to the other guard spot.
That would leave one opening on the starting unit at left tackle. Five-star freshman Kodi Greene would certainly have a chance to win that job even if it’s not a guarantee. But I’ll project him right now to be the first true freshman LT for the Huskies since Trey Adams. Soane Faasolo started four games at that spot last season and would also be a contender for the job with an extra year of experience under his belt.
The coaching staff seems very high on current true freshman Champ Taulealea who also would a contender at either guard spot and Zach Henning continues to seem like he’s getting edged out despite generally positive reviews every offseason. With likely 8 either 1st or 2nd year OL projected to be on the roster in 2026 (which means they haven’t even had a chance to play a snap yet) it makes it really tough to project a 2nd/3rd string so don’t read much if anything into that part.
DEFENSIVE TACKLE
Starters: Jayvon Parker, Elinneus Davis
Backups: Armon Parker, Bryce Butler
Depth: Omar Khan, Caleb Smith, Dominic Macon, TI Umu-Cais (Fr), Ta’a Malu (Fr)
This is one of the tougher positions on the roster with which to go through this exercise. There are a few reasons for that.
- There are four seniors on the roster who are projected to be out of eligibility and each of them figure to be part of the rotation.
- New Defensive Coordinator Ryan Walters uses more 5 DL fronts than your average DC so we don’t know exactly how much more this group will play and how spread out the snaps will be.
- The most experienced potential returner, Jayvon Parker, is coming off an Achilles injury and will be out for at least the first few weeks of this season.
If Jayvon Parker picks up right where he left off last season and one of the other younger players still manages to find some reps this year and look good then Washington should be in okay shape. But the players other than J. Parker have combined for just 218 total snaps so far so it wouldn’t be a surprise to see one or two veteran options added at this spot going into 2026 if the Huskies really are trying to make some noise on the national level.
EDGE RUSHER
Starters: Jacob Lane, Russell Davis II
Backups: Isaiah Ward, Hayden Moore
Depth: Devin Hyde, Victor Sanchez Hernandez, Derek Colman-Brusa (Fr)
This was another really tough one to try to figure out. For starters, Zach Durfee would be likely to get a year of eligibility for 2026 if he appealed for it but he made comments this fall as if he is hoping to be headed for the NFL after this year. I’ve left him off for this exercise and hope he is healthy enough this fall to make that realistic.
It seemed like Russell Davis II would have a real chance to start alongside Durfee this fall but is already out for the year with an injury. He should be healthy going into 2026 with over a year to rehab but that’s now 2 straight seasons with major injuries so it’ll be tough for UW to count on him despite his upside. Isaiah Ward started for most of last season and was fine but wasn’t a game-wrecker as of yet. Jacob Lane has shown promise and taken advantage of injuries this training camp to get a ton of reps with the 1s.
Beyond that group, initial reports on Hayden Moore after converting to Edge and true freshman Devin Hyde have been encouraging. The big elephant in the room here is top in-state recruit Derek Colman-Brusa. There is some uncertainty whether he’ll stay on the edge or ultimately bulk up and move inside. Because of that and because there is some experience already there, I’ve left him off the projected 2-deep for now but could easily see him play right away when he does get on campus.
LINEBACKER
Starters: Buddah Al-Uqdah, Jacob Manu
Backups: Deven Bryant, Xe’ree Alexander
Depth: Zaydrius Rainey-Sale, Jonathan Epperson, Donovan Robinson, Ezaya Tokio (Fr)
This wins my vote as the most intriguing position for this thought exercise at the moment. Both Jacob Manu and top 2025 recruit Zaydrius Rainey-Sale are still recovering from ACL tears suffered last season. If Manu doesn’t come back until the final 4 games (possible if not likely) then it means he can redshirt this fall and have another year of eligibility for 2026. That would give the Huskies with seemingly 5 very reasonable options for a position that never plays more than 2 at a time and in a Ryan Walters defense will only play 1 on a non-zero number of snaps.
Xe’Ree Alexander has starting experience at both Idaho and Central Florida. Al-Uqdah has starting experience at Washington State and is projected to start alongside Deven Bryant at Washington. ZRS was the most hyped member of this current true freshman class. And Jacob Manu is a former all-Pac-12 linebacker under this coaching staff. Good luck figuring out what to do there and it seems impossible that all 5 will be on the roster in 2026 without a position change.
CORNERBACK
Starters: Leroy Bryant, Dylan Robinson, Rahshawn Clark
Backups: Elias Johnson, Jeron Jones (Fr), Ksani Jiles (Fr)
Depth: Ramonz Adams, Elijah Durr (Fr), Rahsjon Duncan (Fr), CJ Lavender (Fr)
There’s an argument that corner is the shallowest position group on the Husky roster for 2025 and then the Dawgs are projected to lose their two outside corners after this season. Right now this looks like a woefully inexperienced group.
The expectation though is that Leroy Bryant will be the starting nickel in 2025 after Rahshawn Clark seemingly had the job sewn up in spring ball. It’s not hard to imagine both getting a good number of reps under their belt this season and Bryant moving outside in 2026. This year’s true freshman Dylan Robinson is likely the first outside corner off the bench and will hopefully see ~200 snaps this season to get him ready to start in 2026. No one else though has played a snap yet and UW is bringing in 5 freshmen for 2026 as it currently stands so there will be a ton of youth here no matter what. I’d expect a veteran transfer in December to help solidify the group in case someone isn’t ready quite yet.
SAFETY
Starters: Alex McLaughlin, Rylon Dillard-Allen
Backups: Vincent Holmes, Paul Mencke
Depth: Rahim Wright II, Gavin Day
Washington is set to lose Makell Esteen and CJ Christian after this 2025 season but seem pretty well set up at the safety spot. That’s in part because two of the stars of training camp have been Alex McLaughlin and Rylon Dillard-Allen. If both play well this upcoming year in at least a rotation role then the starter positions seem strong.
The depth behind them may be a little shaky though. Vincent Holmes started one game last year and was essentially the #4 safety. He projects to either be #4 or #5 this year so likely won’t see a ton of defensive snaps. Paul Mencke redshirted as a freshman last year and Rahim Wright II is out for the season already. They do have four-star Gavin Day currently committed in the 2026 class and one of the 5 CBs in that class could shift over and play safety as well. But I’d expect another portal addition to solidify the depth even if they won’t be counted on to start.
*****
Looking over this early (way-way-way-way-too-early) appraisal of the 2026 depth chart means I’d put the position groups into categories this way:
Portal Starter Likely Needed: Edge Rusher, Cornerback
Portal Depth Likely Needed: Tight End, Offensive Line, Defensive Line, Safety
Only to Replace Portal Losses: Quarterback, Running Back, Wide Receiver, Linebacker
That’s just about as complete a roster as you can hope to have unless you’re one of the handful of blue bloods who can stock up on recruiting classes filled entirely with 4/5-star players. For context, last offseason I put that there were 5 positions where Washington absolutely needed to find starter-level talent coming into this season. They generally went out and did that but there were still quite a few holes to fill.
We may get to August 2026 and say to ourselves “man, it was unfortunate that so many of those young pieces failed to develop in 2025 and we had to go through yet another portal rebuild this offseason”. But as things stand right this second there seems to be a lot of reason for optimism not just for this upcoming season but certainly the one after it.
