Virginia Tech’s Lane Links Up Multiple Times With Giants Before 2025 NFL Draft

The New York Giants met with Virginia Tech's Jaylin Lane several times before the 2025 NFL Draft. The meetings point to a strong interest in the punt return specialist, who averaged 10.6 yards across 68 returns in college.

"We started off talking about, 'You might want to fair catch this one,' but he is so smooth catching the ball, and he has so much courage that's really hard to come by and really hard to teach. He fields every ball thinking he can score," said Hokies special teams coordinator Stu Holt to Heavy.com.

Standing 5-foot-8 and weighing 174 pounds, Lane broke free from 53 tackles on punt returns. His standout moment came against Marshall in 2024 with a blazing 58-yard sprint to the end zone.

Draft experts at NFL.com project Lane as a fourth-round pick. His pass-catching stats stayed strong with 12+ yards per catch over his last three years.

Smith-Marsette and Pascal currently run returns for the Giants. From the slot spot, Robinson caught 93 passes last year, gaining 699 yards, split between 3.6 yards before and 3.9 yards after catches.

Adding Lane could boost depth at both return spots and slot receiver, backing up Nabers and Slayton in the passing game.