Leading into the 2025 NFL Draft, one player who was gaining some pre-draft hype was Virginia Tech wide receiver Jaylin Lane. He impressed at his workouts, and he impressed so much at the Senior Bowl during the week in practices, he was opening more eyes than some of the other bigger names in Mobile, Alabama.
It would not have surprised anyone if Lane had been a very late second or third-round pick last month in Green Bay, but it didn’t happen. After waiting three rounds to have his name called, he finally heard it, and he’ll be staying in the area to play his professional football.
Washington Commanders GM raves about former Hokies wide receiver Jaylin Lane
The Washington Commanders took Lane in the fourth round with the 128th overall pick. You could say that the moment the pick was announced that Lane and the organization were excited about it. That was confirmed even more by Commanders GM Adam Peters when he joined the Pat McAfee Show.
"Everybody in the building wanted to draft Jaylin Lane..
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) May 6, 2025
He's incredible and we feel really good about him"
Adam Peters #PMSLive pic.twitter.com/gbwJk2yQwe
Washington should be excited about getting Lane. He is someone who could have been drafted high and getting him in the fourth round could very well end up being a draft-day steal. One area where he is going to help the Commanders is in the kick return. He returned kicks last season for the Hokies who lost Tucker Holloway and Lane made a name for himself with that.
He returned a kick in Week 2 against Marshall on the final play of the first quarter for a touchdown to jump-start the Virginia Tech offense in what turned into a much-needed victory. Lane landing with Washington gives an up-and-coming team in the NFL another player that can help in multiple ways, and the gut feeling is he’ll be making some plays this fall for the Commanders. It feels like other teams are going to regret passing on him.