On Day 3 of the NFL Draft back in April, the Washington Commanders picked up a potential steal with former Virginia Tech wide receiver Jaylin Lane falling to them at 128th overall and in the fourth round.
Last season and in the months leading up to the draft, Lane really moved up a lot of teams' draft boards, but fell to Day 3. Washington was excited to take him, and the fan base is really falling in love with the wide receiver who really made a name for himself after coming to Blacksburg from Middle Tennessee State in the Transfer Portal.
Washington Commanders fans gushing over Jaylin Lane early in training camp
We are not even through a full week of training camp, and Lane is already turning heads with the Commanders. According to reports on Sunday, Lane made the catch of camp to date when he caught a pass from Jayden Daniels over Mikey Sainristill and Quan Martin.
Jaylin Lane just MOSSED Mikey Sainristill and Quan Martin OMG!!!!
— Bleeding Burgundy & Gold (@BleedinBnG) July 27, 2025
Commanders rookie WR Jaylin Lane had the catch of camp so far. Caught the ball over two defenders in the back of end zone during the last team period. was
— Nicki Jhabvala (@NickiJhabvala) July 27, 2025
OHHH MYYYYY!!! JAYDEN DANIELS DEEP CORNER ENDZONE TOUCHDOWN TO JAYLIN LANE WHO MOSSED QUAN MARTIN AND MIKE SAINRISTIL. CRAZY!!!! #RaiseHail
— Josh Taylor (@JoshTaylorFB) July 27, 2025
Absolutely wild catch by Jaylin Lane at the end of two-minute drills. Jayden threw it up to him in double coverage in the corner of the end zone, and the rookie got both feet in for the score
— Zach Selby (@ZachSelbyWC) July 27, 2025
What Washington fans will quickly find out is that Lane could potentially help in multiple ways. When Tucker Holloway was out injured in 2024, he took over the punt return duties for the Hokies and did a great job, including an electric return for a touchdown in Week 2 against Marshall on the final play of the first quarter. It's safe to say that fans are finding out what Hokies fans knew: Lane can be a difference-maker in multiple ways.
Jaylin Lane might have been a sleeper pick for the Commanders
— Dayday4xx (@dayday4xx) July 27, 2025
Jaylin Lane the fastest player we’ve had in a MINUTE#RaiseHail
— Rio Robinson (@Rio_Robinson91) July 27, 2025
Commanders Training Camp thoughts:
— District Divided (@DistrictDivided) July 27, 2025
1. Jaylin Lane. Wow.
2. There is a juice on defense that's developing nicely
3. Sainristil INT was phenomenal
4. The vibes are fantastic
Now Pay 17 and let's crank this into high gear #RaiseHail pic.twitter.com/bS02NTWh3r
My #Commanders training camp takeaways:
— brandon (@JayDanielsMVP) July 27, 2025
• CB room is legit. DBs had a good amount of PBUs & good coverage.
• Mike Sainristil recorded another INT
• Offense with Jayden looked great in no huddle/redzone drills. QB1 was clutch.
• Jaylin Lane is going to be special. Caught a…
Commanders' fans won't need to wait long to see him in game action as they play their first preseason game on Aug. 8 in Foxborough against the New England Patriots. Who knows how many snaps he'll play that night, but generally, rookies get a lot of snaps in the preseason, and whether it's on offense or returning punts, he'll get a chance to showcase his talents that he's been impressing fans with early in camp.