Rayuan Lane III, SAF, Navy
Size:
Height: 5107
Weight: 200
Arm: 30 ¼”
Hand: 9 ¾”
Accomplishments:
First-Team All-AAC (2024)
“An alignment-versatile defender, Rayuan Lane III projects as an instinctive rotational secondary piece.”
Strengths:
Alignment versatility
Footwork
Highly reactionary athlete
Ball skills (8 INT)
Concerns:
Inconsistent technique
Length
Flip-and-run
One-on-one tackling
Film Analysis:
A four-year contributor for the Naval Academy, Rayuan Lane III is looking to become the first ever DB drafted in Navy program history.
In coverage, Lane can play high and low with good instincts and footwork to redirect and make plays on the football. He will have issues against larger opponents due to his lack of mass and length, but he’s a highly competitive athlete with a knack for finding the football—traits that allow undersized players to consistently get into throwing lanes. He’s best in zone working from depth where he can trigger downhill and through the catchpoint. Good discipline and eyes over the middle of the field against sit routes, but has been caught on a double move a time or two due to his aggressiveness (Oklahoma). Has reps in man both at safety and at nickel.
A low center of gravity allows Lane to redirect and maintain in phase inside the contact window, forcing opponents to work through him. However, if he is unable to disrupt timing early in the stem, Lane doesn’t have the stride length or foot turnover to make up the difference when chasing. Technique is a concern at this point in time, as Lane can quickly get turned around against more nuanced and sudden pass-catchers downfield. Often in half-open technique, if Lane can’t keep his pass-catcher in front and the rep requires him to flip his hips, space can be generated quickly.
Lane is competitive as a run defender but must work on open-field tackling. Can approach contact with a high pad level and below-average technique, often allowing opponents to gain yards after contact while forcing other defenders to rally to the football before the opposing pass catcher reaches the ground. Will often dip his head and launch into players’ legs, as well. Quickness and football IQ showcase against the run from depth, where Lane can beat opposing blockers to the spot and he is not afraid to mix it up at the line of scrimmage. If kept free, Lane has shown the ability to be a contributor downhill.
Overall, it remains to be seen where Lane finds his niche at the next level. Structured in the mold of a slot corner, Lane’s lapses in man may push him to live at safety where his instincts and ball skills could showcase best. Improving in the finer areas as a coverage defender, along with tackling technique, should allow Lane to challenge for snaps in multiple phases. He enters the draft with 572 career snaps on special teams.
Prospect Projection: Day 3 — Role Specific Contributor
Written By: Ryan Fowler
Exposures: Oklahoma (2024), Temple (2024), Memphis (2024)
