Feb 28, 2025; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Naval Academy defensive back Rayuan Lane III (DB42) participates in drills during the 2025 NFL Combine at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Jaguars Film Review: Rayuan Lane is a Special Teams Ace

Originally posted on Jacksonville Jaguars on SI
By Jared Feinberg | Last updated May 27, 2025 8:00 AM ET

The Jacksonville Jaguars had arguably one of the most unique draft classes of any franchise this offseason. After making a blockbuster trade for Colorado superstar Travis Hunter, they drafted players who were exclusively Senior Bowl prospects who stood out from January's all-star game in Mobile, Alabama.

Eight of the nine players from the Jaguars draft picks went to the Senior Bowl. This showed the appearance that general manager James Gladstone and head coach Liam Coen had a great appreciation for these types of players, ones that could be asked to do anything for their team, even if it puts them in less-than-ideal situations.

"These are guys that love the game of football regardless of if it might put them in a compromising position in the eyes of evaluators and decision makers by playing too many snaps or playing out of position, et cetera," Gladstone said in his post-draft press conference. "These guys love ball, and that's what we're hunting up.”

Special teams will become a big thing for any team, including Jacksonville, in the later rounds of the draft. One of the intriguing selections from the backend of the selection process was Navy Midshipmen safety Rayuan Lane III, who became the first-ever defensive back drafted from the Naval Academy.

Lane has the perfect mold to be a four-core special teams player. His short-area quickness and lateral redirection, plus his transitions and hip fluidity, impressed me a lot in the three games I watched of him. When he flips his hips, he's smooth into transition and gets depth quickly in zone drops, especially in high hole, post, and deep third.

Watching new #Jaguars safety Rayuan Lane III. I'm very impressed with his short-area quickness and lateral redirection, plus his transitions and hip fluidity in transition. He explodes to the ball.

He'll have to fight for a roster spot, but he could be a great ST ace in JAX. pic.twitter.com/9ln35jlo4v
— Jared Feinberg (@JRodNFLDraft) May 26, 2025

Lane has a fun trigger attacking downhill with easy, smooth acceleration off of his backpedal. He has good versatility to play multiple spots on the back end such as playing nickel, single-high, split, and in the box. However, he has some glaring issues in man coverage, especially as a nickel defender where his footwork can get sloppy and allow stout route runners to expose him cleanly.

I will say that Lane's ball skills and production (eight career interceptions, including a pick-six against Memphis in 2024) could allow him to be more of a single-high defender where he would not have to utilize his size and frame consistently. At 5-foot-10, 200 pounds, the frame and length becomes a concern in the run game, as well as the tackling technique and lack of play strength to drive ball carriers back and into the ground.

Lane can be fooled by underneath assignments such as play fakes/action and decoys, and had some clear moments of biting hard on these. It is clear from watching his tape that Lane has a lot of work to be done before taking significant snaps at safety this year or next.

Yet, it's the athleticism, speed, quickness, and lateral redirection ability that allows Lane to have value as a key member on special teams, whether as a gunner on kickoffs or punts. His role on defense will likely be at free safety where he can use his athleticism to roam the back-end but he should not see the field a ton with this unit.

Lane played every snap for the Midshipmen last season, exemplifying outstanding toughness, stamina, and leadership along with good backend communication. He provides value and is able to play in multiple spots across the defensive back five. There are tools here to develop and playing on special teams will help him.

However, his roster spot is not a full guarantee, at least for the moment. Lane will need to prove to Coen and his coaches he can bring immense value to the roster, one way or another.

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This article first appeared on Jacksonville Jaguars on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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