Camp Notes: Lane Rises Up

Day two of training camp wrapped up from The Castle after about an hour and a half on a sunny Thursday morning. The new day brings a fresh wave of observations.

From an attendance standpoint, Calais Campbell was the only non-PUP/NFI player not practicing.

WR Jakobi Lane

Lane was the star of day two. He made a stellar leaping catch deep over the middle of the field on a beautiful high-point pass from Lamar Jackson 30+ yards away. Lane has continued to take the majority of first-team reps alongside Zay Flowers and Rashod Bateman, a deviation from what many expected coming into camp. Jackson also targeted Lane on a dig route a few plays later, but sailed the pass.

Lane hasn’t only been impressive in live game sessions; he looks much twitchier than I expected in positional drills, and in general he moves very fluidly for his size. QB1 is clearly comfortable going in Lane’s direction thus far, and it’ll be interesting to see if he gets some more contested catch opportunities down the road.

ILB Trenton Simpson

Trenton Simpson had a great day filling gaps and crashing the box against the run, and going into a contract year, this could be a season where the fourth-year linebacker out of Clemson breaks out, even with Teddye Buchanan likely returning sometime in the first half of the season.

Roquan Smith went on for about two minutes raving about Simpson’s development, and the steps he thinks he’ll take this year. “This is probably the best I’ve seen him,” said Smith. Yes, it’s a camp cliche, but Smith added that it also applies to his mental game, and the way he’s learned to process certain things out on the field.

OLB Tavius Robinson

Robinson had a great practice today. He set the edge and positioned himself perfectly for a would-be run stuff early on, and was flying to the quarterback. Robinson’s versatility allows him to stay on the field more often, and he could be a very fun chess piece for Jesse Minter to use along the front seven.

OLB Mike Green

Mike Green pushed the pocket a handful of times using his plethora of rush moves, and came through to record a “sack” later in practice. Trey Hendrickson’s presence on the opposite edge could open up a world of possibility for the second-year edge out of Marshall who’s looking to build on a solid back half of 2025.

WR Devontez Walker

Walker will likely be Lane’s biggest competitor for that WR3 spot, and he flashed at times today as well. He made a nice toe-tap catch along the sideline early on, and then beat Nate Wiggins on a crossing route over the middle before adding some nice downfield YAC. Walker couldn’t bring in a deep ball late in practice, though he was guarded closely by Amani Oruwariye, and he did have the offense’s only pre-snap penalty of the day, but it was a solid practice for Tez.

TEs Matthew Hibner and Josh Cuevas

Hibner made a few catches throughout the day, including a nice hands-catch in a tight window over the middle of the field. Cuevas had a solid day as well, hauling in some underneath passes before turning upfield. One of these guys will likely step into a larger receiving role during the season, and it’s certainly a battle worth watching.

OLB Kaimon Rucker

Rucker may have been the defender I was most impressed with today. He signed as an UDFA last season before making the practice squad, and it seemed like he was everywhere today. He had a “sack” early in practice, and continued to penetrate the pocket the rest of the way.

QB Tyler Huntley

Huntley threw two late interceptions during 11-on-11. The first was an in route where Devontez Walker slipped at the top of his route, and the second was a well-read ball by Keondre Jackson who picked it off over the middle.

CB TJ Tampa

Tampa made a really nice play in zone coverage, where he read Huntley’s eyes and sunk into the passing lane to get a hand on a pass intended for Walker.

The post Camp Notes: Lane Rises Up appeared first on Russell Street Report.

Source: https://russellstreetreport.com/2026/07/30/camp-notes/lane-goes-up/