Todd Heap bailed out Ravens quarterbacks for a decade in Baltimore. He was fearless over the middle, often sacrificing his body to make a leaping catch with a defender poised to knock his block off.
As a father and assistant coach at Red Mountain High School, Heap got a front-row seat to another high flyer. He coached Ja'Kobi Lane, the Ravens' new third-round wide receiver, for three years. And the quarterback Lane helped out was Heap's son, Kyle.
"I've been watching this kid make plays since he was 13 years old," Heap said this week on "The Lounge" podcast.
"He made some of the most spectacular catches you've ever seen. I mean, some catches where you're like, there's no way he caught that – his hand backwards, falling backwards, getting tackled in the back of the end zone, low to the ground. He comes up with the ball and you're just like, 'Oh my goodness, there's not many people that can do that.'"
Lane is an intriguing prospect with 6-foot-4 size, 4.47 speed, a 40-inch vertical jump, and hands the size of dinner plates. The Ravens took a shot on him ahead of where he ranked on the consensus board, in part, because of his upside.
A stamp of approval from Heap didn't hurt either. When Lane visited Baltimore about 10 days before the draft, General Manager Eric DeCosta didn't know about the prospect's relationship with Heap. Lane offered to FaceTime the former Raven to prove it. When Heap answered, DeCosta was convinced.
Heap ended up having an extended talk with DeCosta. The Ravens knew they wanted to draft a big-bodied wide receiver to help Lamar Jackson. Lane was the first of two, along with fourth-rounder Elijah Sarratt, they ended up selecting.
"The legends – they want to see us do well," DeCosta said. "So, when they endorse a player, that carries a lot of weight."
Heap isn't the only former Raven with a relationship or high opinion of the Ravens rookie. Wide receiver Torrey Smith, one of the team's biggest success stories at the position and a second-round pick in 2011, also vouches for Lane.
Lane came on Smith's radar during 7-on-7 football tournaments. Lane's coach was a mentor to Smith, who had his own team.
Smith watched Lane dominate the circuit as a high schooler. They ended up connecting during a tournament in Las Vegas and kept in touch throughout Lane's college career.
"He had crazy hands and a crazy catch radius, so nothing really changed. He just kept maturing and getting better," Smith said. "People say, 'Oh, I know this kid's going to make it.' He's one of those kids where you could see it back then."
Here's what Heap and Smith see in Lane:
He has tons of natural talent.
Lane's 6-foot-4 size immediately makes him stand out, but it didn't make him an instant hit.
A skinny kid growing up, Lane wasn't a starter on the varsity football team until his junior season. He had back-to-back massive seasons, proving he could be a weapon and earning scholarships from some of the most prestigious programs.
He signed with USC as the fourth-ranked receiver in his own class, and went about working his way up. Makai Lemon (a first-round pick of the Philadelphia Eagles) became the No. 1 receiver for the Trojans, but Lane was a dangerous one. He caught 12 touchdowns as a junior, then followed it up with 745 receiving yards as a senior.
Lane had the highest percentage of contested targets in this year's wide receiver draft class (33%), but he made the catch 49% of the time. His ability to go up and make plays for his quarterback is unique.
"Ja'Kobi's always had that radius that is next to none," Heap said. "He's just about my height, he's got a 40-inch vertical, and his hands are massive."
Heap and Smith kept coming back to those hands. Of all of Lane's physical attributes, they may be what stands out most at 10 ½ inches – the largest of any wide receiver in this year's class.
"It's always about the confidence you have in your hands," Heap said. "There are some receivers that are faster when the ball is in the air and it's because of the confidence in their hands. They know if they can get just a small fingertip on the ball, that there's a chance to catch it – and a good chance at that."
Heap preached to Lane in practice to try to catch everything. That builds trust with your quarterback and habits when it comes to games. That's how Heap played, and it translated to Lane's game, too.
"When you play in the NFL long enough, you see what a really good receiver looks like," Heap said. "I've been watching Ja'Kobi for a long time. He probably has the most upside of just about any receiver in this draft, in my opinion."
Lane is more than a jump ball receiver.
The first thing that jumps out about Lane is his catch radius, but don't let the size fool you. Heap said he worked with Lane day in and day out on dropping his hips and getting in and out of his breaks.
"He's as fluid as anybody out there," Heap said. "He's able to drop his hips like he is 5-[foot]-8, 5-9, 5-10, and yet he's 6-4."
Smith noticed the same thing, saying, "he can bend very well for a kid that tall."
Lane pushed back on the label of a "jump ball" receiver. Though the shorter Lemon handled more of the underneath work, Lane was in a pro-style offense under USC Head Coach Lincoln Riley.
A speedster coming out of college, Smith knows about labels and still scoffs at the notion that all he could do was make plays vertically.
"People to this day think I couldn't run anything but a go-route," Smith said. "Comebacks, digs, I ran all the stuff you had to run. Because you haven't had the opportunity to do something as much because of the role doesn't mean that you can't do it. He can bend, but it's going to be outside."
One of Lane's talents is also drawing pass interference penalties – hidden yardage. He drew 11 in 12 games last season. It's something Smith also had a knack for during his eight NFL seasons, and the result of size and speed.
"You're running full speed and [cornerbacks] are panicking," Smith said. "Oftentimes it's when the ball's in the air because if he's even with you, obviously he's bigger than 100% of the DBs that are going to be guarding him. So, there's going to be some element of, 'Hey, I've got to fight to get to him.'"
Lane is a fun-loving guy but a hard worker.
Longtime Ravens fans may remember the scene of Heap carrying his newlywed wife, Ashley, over the threshold on "Hard Knocks" when reporting to training camp as a rookie first-round pick in 2001.
"I was young and naive in certain respects, but I was mature and confident and in a lot of respects," Heap says now.
Lane is in a different place in life and has a different personality from Heap. But Lane's fun-loving personality was one of the first things Heap brought up about him.
"He is today's era kid," Heap said. "You know, he loves the spotlight. He loves being in front of the camera. That's kind of the opposite of what I was, but you know, it works today.
"I've seen a huge maturation process for him. I think he's still got room to grow, but I've loved to watch it, and he's got great people around him that are helping him."
Smith was no stranger to social media either when he entered the league. Even though he was active on Twitter, Smith was also one of the Ravens' hardest practice workers and most reliable players.
"That's the generation, right? I came in tweeting. He came in TikTok'ing," Smith said. "It's just what their generation does. He has a fun personality. It's one of those things that if you're not around kids, you don't understand.
"Great kid. He stood out as a leader, a person that does things the right way."
Though he oozes talent, Heap didn't let Lane coast on it.
"I loved giving him a hard time at practice and trying to teach them the right way to do things," Heap said. "Because these young kids coming up, they see what's on TV on Sundays and they think, 'Oh, I just need to do that.' And it's like, 'OK, you do need to do that, but there's a process to get there. And he was a young guy that was fun taking through that process.
"He's a joy to work with. When he's on the field, there's nobody that works harder. It's fun to be around guys that have that much talent that you can mold. He was moldable and he was coachable from a young age because he could do it all."
Lane trained with former Ravens wide receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh during the pre-draft process. Lane was also one of Steve Smith Sr.'s favorite wide receivers in this year's class.
Former Ravens pass catchers have given their stamp of approval. Now it's Lane's chance to prove them, and more importantly, himself, right.
"If you've ever been around Todd, everybody knows he's tenfold, the best human being to really be around. And I think just being around him in high school kind of showed me the ropes on how to carry myself, and not only on the field, but off the field," Lane said. "I hope I can be half the Raven he was."
