The Baltimore Ravens have added a player with 1st round talent in the 3rd round after selecting USC wide receiver Ja’Kobi Lane in the 3rd round (No. 80 overall) of the 2026 NFL draft.
“There’s a lot to work with having Ja’Kobi Lane,” ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr. said after the pick went in.
There were wildly different projections on Lane’s NFL prospects after the 6-foot-4, 200-pound Arizona native had one of the wildest stat lines you’ll see in 2024 with 43 receptions for 525 yards … and 12 touchdowns.
Lane, 6-foot-4 and 200 pounds, followed that up in 2025 with another line that will throw you off — 49 receptions for 745 yards and 4 touchdowns.
“Ja’Kobi Lane is a prototypical X-receiver with outstanding ball skills to dominate the catch point, similar to Dallas Cowboys receiver George Pickens,” Bleacher Report’s Damian Parson wrote in his pre-draft evaluation. “Lane is equipped with the frame and wingspan to thrive as a high-point specialist in the NFL. Lane is a former 4-star recruit in the 2023 class. He is coming off his best season of college football in 2025. Lane has never eclipsed 800 yards receiving in a single season.”
Lane Ranked as No. 1 WR Prospect at One Point
ESPN’s Jordan Reid had Lane ranked as the No. 1 wide receiver prospect in the 2026 draft class in July 2025, while fellow draft expert Matt Miller didn’t even have him in his top 5 prospects.
“I have the 6-4, 195-pound redshirt sophomore ranked higher than everyone and will continue to reside on that island,” Reid wrote. “But he is a polarizing prospect who has many scouts needing to see more. Despite 12 touchdowns last season, Lane had only 528 receiving yards and was held below 50 yards in eight of USC’s 13 games. There isn’t a true WR1 in this class yet, so, with a bit more consistency, Lane has the opportunity to rise and be the first receiver off the board.”
Lane Does One Thing Really Well: Score Touchdowns
Lane’s proclivity for getting into the end zone goes back to his days at Red Mountain High in Mesa, Arizona, where he had 25 receiving touchdowns over his last 2 seasons and was named the Wide Receiver MVP at the Elite 11 in 2022.
Sports Illustrated’s Kyron Samuels believes Lane could end up vaulting to the No. 1 receiver picked in the 2026 NFL draft with another big year.
“An underrated characteristic of Lane’s game is his toughness,” Samuels wrote. “While Lane is by no means undersized at 6-4, 195 pounds, he is slender in stature. You’d never know it based off of how tenacious he is with the ball in the air as he’s willing to sacrifice his body despite impending collision in often times defenseless positions. That type of fearlessness and sacrifice galvanizes a team of peers fighting for the same goal.”
Drafting Lane signals the Ravens may have had enough of underperforming WR2 Rashod Bateman, a former 1st round pick.
Bateman signed a 3-year, $36.75 million contract before the 2025 season and responded with 19 receptions for 224 yards and 2 touchdowns in 13 games.
The Ravens don’t have a voidable year in Bateman’s contract until 2028, and while he only counted $4.548 million against the salary cap in 2025, that number goes up to $6.298 million in 2026 and $10.9 million in 2027.
Ravens Draft ‘Polarizing’ 6-foot-4, 200-Pound WR in 3rd Round