On the Draft Board: Virginia Tech’s Jaylin Lane could find early role for 2025 Chiefs

To no one’s surprise, Kansas City is hosting a small wideout with elite deep speed.

According to Ryan Fowler of The Draft Network, the Kansas City Chiefs’ offensive coaches, among other teams, are scheduled to meet with Virginia Tech wide receiver Jaylin Lane.

As we will see, Lane fits a familiar pattern the Chiefs have repeatedly sought over the past decade in their wideouts.

Background

Lane committed to Middle Tennessee State in 2020 as a three-star recruit out of Clover, South Carolina. After a productive 2022 campaign that saw Lane catch 63 passes for 940 yards and five touchdowns, he transferred to Virginia Tech for his final two seasons.

While Lane did not have a breakout performance in either of his two seasons in Blacksburg, he showed tantalizing potential. Last season, he caught 38 passes for 466 yards and two touchdowns while adding 116 rushing yards and two more scores on the ground.

While fielding punts, Lane led Conference USA in 2021 with a 15.5-yard average return. In 2024, he led the ACC with 245 punt return yards. Over his career, Lane returned a pair of punts for touchdowns. Over five seasons, Lane also averaged 21.8 yards on 39 career kickoff returns.

After the season, Lane attended the Senior Bowl and was invited to the NFL Scouting Combine, checking in at 5 feet 10 and 191 pounds. The Chiefs are undoubtedly intrigued by Lane’s outstanding 4.34-second 40-yard dash time combined with a 40-inch vertical jump.

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Film evaluation

If you watch Lane’s 2024 highlights, it is not hard to imagine him on some of the favorite plays of head coach Andy Reid. His touches frequently come near the line of scrimmage and are designed to get his speed into space.

Lane comes in motion and takes a short pass to the 5-yard line for a 12-yard pickup. The wideout can also be effective simply handing him the ball, as on this end-around against Miami.

This is the type of play in which Reid loved to utilize former Chiefs receiver Mecole Hardman (now with the Green Bay Packers). Kansas City does have the league’s fastest wide receiver in Xavier Worthy, but they may be wise to add another speed option to avoid exposing Worthy’s light frame to the injury risk on gadget plays.

That said, Lane can be much more than a designed touch magnet. He is particularly skilled at beating defenses on crossing routes through the middle of the field.

While frequently in motion, Lane lines up in the slot to beat the defense on this route. When Arrowhead Pride’s Nate Christensen recently looked at fellow Virginia Tech wide receiver Da’Quan Felton, he noted a lack of targets in the Hokie offense as a recurring problem. Evaluating Lane presents a similar challenge. He is frequently open, yet rarely sees the ball come his way.

While the quarterback successfully dumps the ball off to the tight end for a nine-yard gain, Lane is open on a shallow crossing route and likely would have gained 20 yards on a reception.

The unimaginative Hokie offense did not create many opportunities for deep shots, but Lane made the most of his best chance last season. Against Virginia, he completely got past the entire secondary for a no-doubt house call. Encouragingly, he found the downfield pass on the run without hesitation, allowing him to score at almost full speed.

Lane’s usage last season was so frequently near the line of scrimmage that it almost looks telegraphed where and how he is getting the ball, leading to multiple blown-up plays. Scouts must evaluate how much to put on his sometimes-momentary hesitation in decision making or how much unproductive plays stem from repetitive playcalling.

At least initially, the Chiefs would design looks to put Lane’s speed into the open field. However, he will need to break tackles to maximize his yards-after-the-catch potential. While he shows big play potential, Lane frequently loses his balance after making the first man miss. This leads to some nice gains that one feels should have been a little better, as this end-around against Virginia, where he cannot stay on his feet and fight for the end zone.

Lane does have one calling card that should get him on the field early as a rookie.

He is very decisive when taking punts. With more of the field to build up his speed, his balance appears better as a returner, and he can both elude and run through opponent coverage, as here on his 2024 return touchdown.

The bottom line

Lane represents a wide receiver prototype that many Chiefs fans have been noticeably bored with — but one the team shows no signs of moving on from, based on this year’s reported draft visits.

Given Worthy’s importance to the offense going forward, it would be wise to hedge against potential injury with another deep threat. While not as big, Lane also shows promise in some of the catch-and-run plays that drove Rashee Rice’s late rookie-season heroics.

It is difficult to assess how the Chiefs rank wide receiver as a draft need. With questions about Rice’s 2025 availability related both to health and legal situations, a rookie wideout could be needed early and often in Kansas City. On the other hand, should Rice, Worthy and Hollywood Brown manage to stay on the field together most of the season, a first-year wide receiver floor could be very low to make an impact this season.

Lane’s return game ability — and Reid’s near-certain ability to design touches to take advantage of his speed on offense — give him a high floor to contribute as a rookie if selected on Day Three. He could then spend a year learning the offense while possibly establishing himself as a candidate to take over for Brown in the starting lineup in 2026.