2025 NFL Draft Scouting Report: Kyren Lacy

Last Updated: 11/25/2024

Career Stats 

Summary  

Kyren Lacy started his college career at Louisiana after earning a four-star rating from 247Sports out of high school. As a freshman, he led the team in receptions and yards, and as a sophomore he led the Ragin’ Cajuns in receiving touchdowns. He took this success and entered the transfer portal, ending up at LSU playing behind Malik Nabers and Brian Thomas Jr. Now out of their shadows, he has set career-highs in every major receiving category while leading the SEC with eight receiving touchdowns.

Lacy has a stout 6-foot-2 frame that he uses effectively throughout his game. It all starts at the line of scrimmage where he has displayed a variety of release techniques, ranging from attacking the defenders’ cushion with speed to quick-footed press-beating moves. From here, we see a crafty route-runner who attacks the defenders’ discipline and leverages points with tempo and upper-body fakes. His deceleration into breaks, paired with a quick first step out of them, allows him to win on hard-breaking routes. Lacy is quick but not overly fast, but his ability to attack leverage allows him to get free in the intermediate or deep areas of the field. Pairing this with his ball-tracking ability, we see a receiver who can threaten all areas of the field. He is a pure man-beater at his core but has improved in settling into soft spots in zone coverages.

At the catch point, Lacy is a touch inconsistent. We see reps where he makes a strong catch away from his body in an attacking fashion. We also see reps where he drops an easy reception or allows the defender to separate him and the ball easily. More often than not, he excels catching outside his frame and especially does an excellent job working back to the ball, and not just exclusively on curls and comebacks. Along the sidelines and in high-point situations, Lacy has a tremendous ability to almost slow time and contort his body to get two feet in bounds or haul in circus catches. His late hands in tight coverage give him an advantage, almost allowing him to be open even though he is not. When it comes to straight-up jump balls, Lacy leaves us desiring a little more.

Once he has the ball in his hands, Lacy has displayed an ability to make the first defenders miss but does not often string moves together to make multiple players miss. We see him make some impressive lateral jump cuts while also having a willingness to bury his head and pick up an extra yard at the sticks when needed. It is clear, however, that he lacks the elite speed prior LSU receivers have possessed, and that may hinder him from breaking free for house calls. 

Strengths 

• Ball tracking 
• Manipulative route-runner 
• Body control 

Weakness 

• Elite speed 
• Consistent hands 
• After the catch 

 Athletic Testing 

• 40-yard dash: TBD
• Vertical: TBD
• Broad Jump: TBD
• Three-cone: TBD
• Shuttle: TBD
• Bench: TBD

NFL Role Prediction

• X or Z wide receiver  

Fantasy Outlook 

Kyren Lacy has displayed some versatility playing both inside and outside at LSU thus far, making him a perfect chess piece at the next level. His lack of elite speed may relegate him to a more interior receiver, especially when you pair it with his patience and ability to manipulate defenders. Keenan Allen is potentially a Hall-of-Famer in weighting, but I can see Lacy developing into a similar player, thus he would thrive in a role similar to what we saw from Allen all those years in San Diego/Los Angeles. This would make him a consistent fantasy option, especially in PPR formats, that favor high percentage and short aDOT players. 

Player Comparisons 

• Keenan Allen 
• Jakobi Meyers
• Allen Robinson