Rayuan Lane III made history as the first defensive back drafted out of Navy, trading four years at the Naval Academy for a shot at NFL safety.
Rayuan Lane III spent his college career patrolling the secondary for the Navy Midshipmen before the Jacksonville Jaguars took a sixth-round flier on him in 2025. A graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy who was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Marine Corps, Lane's path to the NFL is as unusual as it is compelling, and he now enters his second pro season fighting for a bigger defensive role.
Path to the league
Lane started three seasons at safety for Navy from 2021 to 2024, piling up 244 career tackles, seven interceptions, 21 pass breakups and eight forced fumbles across his Midshipmen career. He earned first-team All-AAC honors as a senior in 2024 and third-team recognition in 2023, then played in the 2025 Senior Bowl before Jacksonville selected him with the 200th overall pick, making him the first Navy defensive back ever drafted.
Career highlights
Lane's best college season came in 2024, when he recorded 70 tackles, three forced fumbles, four pass breakups and two interceptions in his final Navy campaign. He graduated from the Naval Academy in May 2025 and was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Marine Corps, a commitment he balances alongside his NFL career.
2025 season recap
Lane made the Jaguars' 53-man roster as a rookie and appeared in games at safety and on special teams, finishing the year with 20 tackles, one fumble recovery and one pass deflection.
Sources
- Wikipedia: Rayuan Lane III
- ESPN: Rayuan Lane III
Statistics
2025 season and career2025 Season · Defense
17 games played▶Defense · career
| Year | Team | GP | TOT | SOLO | SACK | INT | FF | FR | PD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | jaguars | 17 | 20 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Player Profile
Background
- Position
- Safety
- Group
- defense
- College
- Navy
- Hometown
- Jessup, MD, USA
- Age
- 23
- Status
- active
