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By Anne Erickson
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Ja'Kobi Lane arrived at Ravens training camp already with a lot to offer.
A few weeks later, he's giving Baltimore even more reasons to be excited.
The third-round pick out of USC has quickly become one of the biggest stories of camp, and it isn't hard to see why. Once the pads came on, Lane looked like a different player. He's been making contested catches, winning jump balls and showing the kind of body control that quickly becomes highlights.
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For a team that was looking for another playmaker at wide receiver, that's a pretty obviously a good start.
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At 6-foot-4 with a 40-inch vertical leap and massive hands, Lane has the physical tools that are tough to teach. He's using every bit of that size to make life difficult for defensive backs, especially in red-zone drills where he's consistently come down with passes that looked nearly impossible to complete.
The praise has been loud, too. Offensive coordinator Declan Doyle recently compared Lane's strong hands to former All-Pro Michael Thomas, while Derrick Henry said the rookie reminds him of a young DeAndre Hopkins because of the way he attacks contested catches. Those are lofty comparisons and say a lot.
More importantly, Lamar Jackson has started looking his way, according to training camp reports. Building trust with a quarterback usually takes time, but Lane has already flashed enough to become a frequent target during camp practices. That's an encouraging sign for a receiver trying to earn meaningful snaps as a rookie.
The competition isn't over, of course. Zay Flowers and Rashod Bateman remain firmly at the top of the depth chart, and Baltimore will want to see Lane continue improving as a route runner before handing him a bigger role.
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Still, he's making a strong case for that WR3 job, and it'll be exciting to watch him bloom.
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