Jaguars' Rayuan Lane III Makes Navy History

The Jacksonville Jaguars had a busy final day of the 2025 NFL Draft, adding six new players to the first roster built by head coach Liam Coen and general manager James Gladstone.

And while the Jaguars made draft history with their bold trade for Colorado's Travis Hunter, they also made history with another draft pick: sixth-round Navy safety Rayuan Lane III.

With the selection of Lane, the former long-time Navy defender became the first defensive back from the program to ever be drafted.

"Lane is the 19th Naval Academy graduate (he will graduate in May) to be drafted by the NFL and the first who played in the secondary. He is the fourth Navy football player to be drafted in the last 11 years and the first defensive player to be drafted since Bob Kuberski was selected in the seventh round by the Green Bay Packers in 1993," Navy said in a release.

A self-described special teams warrior, Lane was a 2024 All-American Athletic Conference First Team member as well as a Jim Thorpe Award semifinalist.

A starter for 43 games in a row dating back to his freshman year, he impressively held the longest streak of starts in the FBS for a safety and the second longest by any player in the secondary.

“We are super happy and proud of Rayuan. The Jacksonville Jaguars have drafted a tremendous person, competitor and player,” said Navy defensive passing game coordinator and safeties coach Eric Lewis. “I firmly believe that Rayuan’s best football is ahead of him, between his special teams ability, his coverage skills and his fearlessness in stopping the run.  He has a huge upside as a football player because he has proven time and again while at the Naval Academy that he is not afraid to work."

Lane will be relied upon quickly as a core special teamer in Jacksonville, and nothing about his body of work suggests he will not be prepared for the moment.

According to Navy, Lane will be able to play immediately as Section 557 of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2025 amended the statutes defining the agreement signed by midshipmen and cadets attending a Military Service Academy and their resulting service obligations.

These amendments authorize the Secretaries of the Military Departments to transfer not more than three cadets or midshipmen from each Military Service Academy who obtain employment in professional sports, to the Selected Reserves as commissioned officers to participate in efforts to recruit and retain members of the armed forces.