Oregon Football: Top 5 breakout candidates for 2017

Oregon lost a lot of talent at tight end this season. Pharaoh Brown, Johnny Mundt and Evan Baylis were all seniors last season, and their departures will open up a lot of space on the depth chart. While losing a trio of talented tight ends would normally seem to be detrimental to a team’s fortunes, though, the Ducks could benefit with the addition by subtraction.

That’s because the graduations of Brown, Baylis, and Mundt opens the door for redshirt sophomore Jacob Breeland to take over full-time duties at the position. Breeland was one of the best five tight ends to come out of California in the 2016 recruiting class.

With the trio of seniors ahead of him on the depth chart, Breeland had only limited opportunities to see the field in 2016. He did catch a 63-yard reception in the loss against Washington State last season, but he saw the field in just three games as a freshman.

A former receiver in high school, Breeland has the talent to fortify Oregon’s receiving corps in 2017. He also has the requisite size at 6-foot-5 and 241 pounds to contribute as a solid blocker on running downs. The Ducks could really fly high on offense if Breeland breaks out as one of the Pac-12’s dominant tight ends this season.