Ja'Kobi Lane barely makes top 100 NFL prospect rankings list

Given his great offseason and productive outings in all the important events before the 2026 NFL draft, Ja'Kobi Lane's draft projection should be better than what it is. In a deep receiver class, he still has an upside that outweighs others in his class. However, many experts still remain skeptical about him.

In a recent feature, Michael Middlehurst-Schwartz of USA TODAY Sports ranks his top 100 players in this draft class. Trojan receiver Ja'Kobi Lane comes in at 95. Here is what he had to say about Ja'Kobi Lane:

"Highlight-reel catches came easy to the 6-4, 200-pound target, who made a habit of snaring jump balls down the sideline. That should at least make him a significant asset in the red zone, but Lane has to learn to fight off contact from cornerbacks better if he's going to carve out a career on contested catches."

While underrated Ja'Kobi Lane is not a flawless project at receiver. Given his projections, he is seen to be an early day 3 guy or, at best, a late 3rd round pick. Ja'Kobi Lane has the size and ability to be a prototype outside receiver and as dominant as it gets in the red zone. Given that and other exciting skills, Lane still has the potential to be a quarterback's favorite target and an extremely productive receiver in the NFL. His flaws do not come close to the great things he can bring to an offense in the NFL. If he falls in the right hands, he will end up there with the top receivers in his class.

This article originally appeared on Trojans Wire: NFL draft analyst is not fully sold on USC football's Ja'Kobi Lane