A'Mauri Washington Lands No. 5 On Cbs Sports Defender List
A'Mauri Washington landed at No. 5 on cbs sports' list of college football’s most-feared defenders for the 2026 season. The Oregon defensive lineman is listed at six-foot-three and 330 pounds, and the ranking puts his interior disruption in the national spotlight before the season starts.
Washington’s profile is built on production as much as size. Last season, he recorded 33 tackles and 1.5 sacks for Oregon, and Brad Crawford wrote that he collected 33 stops as a third-year sophomore with seven passes defended.
Washington and Oregon Trench Work
Few interior defenders are as disruptive snap-for-snap, Crawford wrote, adding that Washington consistently collapses the pocket from the interior. He also said Washington “eats double teams, clogs rushing lanes and creates cleaner opportunities for linebackers behind him -- all of them veterans and uber-talented as well.”
That kind of interior pressure gives Oregon a clear answer in the middle of the defense. It also shows why Washington is being discussed in the same breath as the most feared players in the sport rather than just another returning starter.
Lanning on Washington’s Motor
Dan Lanning said Washington has been working to improve his competitive motor and stamina this season. “It starts with size and explosive power. I think this guy's extremely explosive,” Lanning said.
He also said, “I think what he had to work on as he got here was his competitive stamina, the ability to go harder for longer.” Lanning added, “And those moments, I think he recognized earlier, ‘Okay, it's gonna be a limiting factor. This is one of my strengths. This is a limiting factor.’ And then his ability to learn our system and be extremely disruptive, be where he's supposed to be at.”
Washington’s 2027 Draft Path
Washington’s next step is tied to how far his disruption carries over into 2026. Lanning said he could work his way up the draft board for 2027 if he becomes an elite enforcer on defense this season, and that makes this ranking more than a preseason label — it is a snapshot of a player with a clear upward path if the production keeps matching the frame.
