2026 Duke Football Depth Chart

Walker Eget wins the QB1 designation by default, but he’s recovering from a serious leg injury and missed all of spring — Ari Patu is getting every snap right now and represents a genuine Week 1 threat if Eget isn’t cleared. Neither carries rushing upside, so the QB room is fantasy dead weight regardless of who starts. The only reason to roster a Duke QB is deep-league streaming, and even then, the receiving corps downgrade from 2025 makes that a hard sell.

Nate Sheppard is the entire fantasy case for this offense. With Anderson Castle gone, Sheppard absorbs the goal-line work he was previously sharing, and the scheme will lean run-heavy by necessity with an unproven QB and a reconstructed receiver room. CJ Campbell is the RB2 on talent — his pass-catching profile at FAU was elite — but he’s coming off a season-ending ankle injury and skipped spring, so his readiness is genuinely uncertain. Billy Daal is a short-yardage body, nothing more.

At receiver, Richardson leads purely on role and size projection — the Ivy-to-ACC leap is real risk, but he’s the only player with WR1 usage history in the room. Nicholas has the safest floor given FBS experience at Charlotte and active spring participation. Jayden Moore inherits the slot by attrition. Hasley is the most important pass catcher on this roster — he’s the security blanket in Brewer’s system, a proven red-zone finisher, and likely leads the team in receptions. Ranking him TE1 understates his value; he’s functionally a flex WR with touchdown upside in every game.