There are plenty of areas of intrigue for the Oregon Ducks going into the 2026 season, but near the top of the list is the defensive line. With several players turning down a spot in the 2026 NFL Draft and choosing to return to Eugene for one more season, there's an expectation that the Ducks have one of the best defensive lines in the nation this year.
If that's going to happen, there are two players who need to stand out in particular, though. On Monday at Oregon's annual media day, both players took center stage; one much bigger than we last saw, and the other trimmed down a great deal.
Both Nasir Wyatt and Matayo Uiagalelei have been in the lab this offseason, but with different goals.
After a standout freshman year where he had 11 tackles,
7 QB pressures, 4 TFL, 3 sacks, and one forced fumble in just 39 snaps, there's been a ton of hype surrounding Wyatt ahead of Year 2. That hype is only increasing after Monday, when he divulged that he put on 20-30 pounds this offseason and is now sitting at a healthy 245 with the same quickness he became known for last year.
#Oregon OLB Nasir Wyatt. 6’2, 235.
— Kyron Samuels (@kyronsamuels) April 7, 2026
Elite first step, bend, speed, and improved functional balance throughout the season. pic.twitter.com/wEbV7knLjE
So long as he can keep that "power and twitch," Wyatt says that he hopes to model his game after a David Bailey or Reuben Bain, both of whom went in the first round of last year's draft despite being considered undersized edge rushers, like Wyatt.
"I feel like, you know, a lot of the separators from people that they consider undersized as rushers — people like David Bailey or Reuben Bain or Nik Bonitto — those guys can play the c-gap really well. So just being able to constantly add value to my game and give these draft boards no reason to just turn me down."
This growth is something that Uiagalelei has seen and taken notice of.
"The way he's changed his body, gaining weight, putting on muscle, he's gonna be scary," Uiagalelei said.
Going into his last season with the Ducks, Uiagalelei is also watching for changes on the scales, but going in the opposite direction of Wyatt. After weighing in near 280 at points last season, Uiagalelei is down to around 265 ahead of fall camp, and has cut his body fat down from 24% to 19%.
For Wyatt, watching Uiagalelei go through this change was inspiring, and helped push him in his own chnages this offseason.
"They say it's harder to gain weight than it is to lose it. So you know, he really took that seriously," Wyatt said of Uiagalelei. "Just to know that a guy like that, you know, he's here four years, and he's still working on getting his body right. You know, it takes time. So just having him as my mentor, you know, being in the same predicament as me, he does real good at that. I think he's gonna move a lot more twitchier this year. Like, just seeing it off the block, I'm like, man, 'this dude is twitching.'"
While the process was different for each, the goal remained the same: better position yourself for the upcoming season so that you can help lead Oregon to a championship. With fall camp finally here, the behind-the-scenes work is now behind both players.
Now it's time to strap up and show what the changes can lead to.
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This article originally appeared on Ducks Wire: Wyatt bulks up, Uiagalelei slims down for Oregon in 2026
