Jaylin Lane
American football player (born 2002)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Joshua Jaylin Lane (born May 1, 2002) is an American professional football wide receiver and punt returner for the Washington Commanders of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders and Virginia Tech Hokies. Lane was selected by the Commanders in the fourth round of the 2025 NFL draft.
Spartanburg County, South Carolina, U.S.
Lane with the Washington Commanders in 2025 | |||||||||||
| No. 83 – Washington Commanders | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Positions | Wide receiver • Punt returner | ||||||||||
| Roster status | Active | ||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||
| Born | May 1, 2002 Spartanburg County, South Carolina, U.S. | ||||||||||
| Listed height | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) | ||||||||||
| Listed weight | 196 lb (89 kg) | ||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||
| High school | Clover (Clover, South Carolina) | ||||||||||
| College |
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| NFL draft | 2025: 4th round, 128th overall pick | ||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||
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| Awards and highlights | |||||||||||
| Career NFL statistics as of 2025 | |||||||||||
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Early life
Lane was born on May 1, 2002, in Spartanburg County, South Carolina.[1] As a senior at Clover High School, he had 76 receptions for 1,611 yards and 30 touchdowns.[2] Lane played under his father, Brian, who served as head coach.[3][4] He committed to Middle Tennessee State University to play college football.[5]
College career
Lane played 54 games of college football as a wide receiver and return specialist. He played for the Blue Raiders of Middle Tennessee State University from 2020 to 2022, recording 124 receptions for 1,528 yards and 10 touchdowns. He transferred to play for the Hokies of Virginia Tech in 2023, playing in 24 games over two seasons and recording 79 receptions for 1,004 yards and eight touchdowns.[6][7]
| Year | Team | G | Receiving | Kick returns | Punt returns | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rec | Yds | Avg | TD | Ret | Yds | Avg | TD | Ret | Yds | Avg | TD | |||
| 2020 | Middle Tennessee | 7 | 13 | 122 | 9.4 | 1 | 13 | 274 | 21.1 | – | 1 | 10 | 10.0 | – |
| 2021 | Middle Tennessee | 12 | 42 | 466 | 11.1 | 4 | 13 | 285 | 21.9 | – | 19 | 295 | 15.5 | 1 |
| 2022 | Middle Tennessee | 11 | 69 | 940 | 13.6 | 5 | 11 | 254 | 23.1 | – | 18 | 152 | 8.4 | – |
| 2023 | Virginia Tech | 12 | 41 | 538 | 13.1 | 6 | 1 | 18 | 18.0 | – | 5 | 31 | 6.2 | – |
| 2024 | Virginia Tech | 12 | 38 | 466 | 12.3 | 2 | 1 | 21 | 21.0 | – | 24 | 245 | 10.2 | 1 |
| Career[8] | 54 | 203 | 2,532 | 12.5 | 18 | 39 | 852 | 10.9 | – | 67 | 733 | 10.9 | 2 | |
Professional career
| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle | Three-cone drill | Vertical jump | Broad jump | Bench press | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 ft 9+3⁄4 in (1.77 m) | 191 lb (87 kg) | 31+3⁄4 in (0.81 m) | 9+7⁄8 in (0.25 m) | 4.34 s | 1.50 s | 2.52 s | 4.12 s | 6.75 s | 40.0 in (1.02 m) | 11 ft 0 in (3.35 m) | 14 reps | |
| All values from NFL Combine[9][10] | ||||||||||||
Lane was selected by the Washington Commanders in the fourth round (128th overall) of the 2025 NFL draft.[11] He signed his four-year rookie contract on May 9, 2025.[12] Lane earned Rookie of the Week honors for week 3 after scoring his first career touchdown on a 90-yard punt return against the Las Vegas Raiders, tying the franchise record set by Jacquez Green's 90-yard punt return in Week 2 of the 2003 season.[13][14][15] In the Week 15 win over the New York Giants, he recorded his second career touchdown on a 63-yard punt return.[16][17] Lane made 15 appearances (four starts) for Washington during his rookie campaign, recording 16 receptions for 225 scoreless yards. On December 22, the Commanders placed Lane on season-ending injured reserve due to an ankle injury suffered in Week 16 against the Philadelphia Eagles.[18]
