Scouting Jets UDFA wide receiver Caullin Lacy

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Nov 1, 2025; Blacksburg, Virginia, USA; Louisville Cardinals wide receiver Caullin Lacy (5) catches a pass for a touchdown against the Virginia Tech Hokies during the third quarter at Lane Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brian Bishop-Imagn Images | Brian Bishop-Imagn Images

Over the next few months, we’ll be breaking down all undrafted free agents signed by the Jets. We continue today with a look at wide receiver Caullin Lacy.

The 24-year old Lacy is listed at 5’9” and 183 pounds and was undrafted out of Louisville. He was a third-team all Sun Belt conference receiver in 2023 after putting together a 1,300-yard season at South Alabama and then, having transferred to Louisville, was an honorable mention all-ACC wide receiver and third-team return specialist in 2025.

Background

Lacy was a three-star high school recruit having been a running back, but headed to South Alabama as a wide receiver in 2020.

In his freshman season, Lacy’s primary role was on jet sweeps as he caught just 11 passes and ended the season with 210 yards on 31 touches.

His role expanded in 2021 and he caught 41 passes, accounting for 315 yards from scrimmage. He also got into the end zone for the first time on a two-point conversion.

2022 saw Lacy take another step forward as he caught 64 passes for over 800 yards and six touchdowns, adding a punt return score. He then broke out in a big way in 2023 as he had 91 catches for over 1,300 yards with seven touchdowns. He was fifth in the nation in receiving yards.

Lacy would then enter the transfer portal and headed to Louisville but he had a preseason injury and eventually opted to redshirt after returning in the middle of the season and making four appearances. He had 39 yards and two scores on 10 touches and also had a kickoff return touchdown.

In 2025, Lacy stepped up with 60 catches for 635 yards and two scores to earn an all-ACC honorable mention. He also led the ACC in punt return average, with two touchdowns, to earn third-team recognition as a return specialist.

Despite going to the senior bowl and scouting combine, Lacy was not drafted in April.

The Jets signed Lacy to an undrafted free agent contract that included over $250K in guarantees. This was notable because every other Jets undrafted rookie signed this year combined for just $61K of guarantees between them.

Let’s move onto some more in-depth analysis of what Lacy brings to the table, based on in-depth research and film study.

Measurables/Athleticism

Lacy is short and doesn’t have a big catch radius, although his hands are relatively big.

His burst and acceleration, along with his change of direction abilities, are evident from his game film but he posted a disappointing collection of numbers during the pre-draft process.

He ran a 4.55 at the combine with a 33.5-inch vertical and a 116-inch broad jump, while not doing a bench press or agility drills.

The fact that Lacy did the 40 again at his pro day but didn’t improve on his time probably hurt his chances of being drafted.

Usage

As you’d expect for a smaller receiver, Lacy has primarily played in the slot during his career and would no doubt be expected to do the same at the NFL level.

He’s also been someone that is put in motion a lot and is a good jet sweep/gadget play option. He also took handoffs in the backfield and direct wildcat snaps at times.

As noted, Lacy was a running back in high school. He also threw a touchdown pass on a trick play in college.

Deep threat

Lacy has had occasional success on downfield throws. He obviously has the burst to get behind the defense, especially if there is misdirection or a blown coverage involved.

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He doesn’t seem to excel at tracking and locating deep throws, or adjusting to the ball, though.

Hands

Lacy had an impressive 77 percent catch rate during his college career, although that is tempered by the fact that 40 percent of his catches were behind the line of scrimmage. He had made some highlight reel grabs at times, though.

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He never had more than five dropped passes in any season during his college career.

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Routes

Considering he has good burst and acceleration, and has displayed good change of direction abilities, you might expect Lacy to be particularly effective as a route runner.

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However, he is not as sharp or consistent as you’d expect to see at times. This may be a by-product of playing at a level where he didn’t need to pay attention to these details to get himself open and hopefully he can improve on this at the NFL level. A lot of his best success seemed to come on flats and crossers.

He did show some impressive signs of route running ability during Senior Bowl practices, suggesting he was responding well to the pro coaches.

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Red zone

Lacy had 17 offensive touchdowns during his college career but wasn’t really much of a red zone threat. In his breakout 2023 season, five of his seven touchdowns were longer than 30 yards.

He’s obviously not a fade or jump ball threat because of his size but could still be a weapon getting open in tight areas or on jet sweeps down near the goal line.

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After the catch

Lacy displays exciting elusiveness after the catch with the ability to turn a short pass into a long play.

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He demonstrates a good awareness of and nose for the end zone and the line-to-gain with the ball in his hands.

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In the middle two seasons of his career, Lacy had over 500 yards on plays where he caught the ball behind the line of scrimmage, averaging nearly 10 yards per catch on these.

He had two fumbles on offense in his college career.

Blocking

Lacy doesn’t make much of an impact as a blocker, which is hardly surprising given his lack of size. His grades on analysis site Pro Football Focus have typically been below average and the general pattern was that his teams ran away from him, used him as a decoy or took him out of the game altogether in obvious run situations.

When he is required to block, his technique and strength don’t make him very effective but he does show hustle and desire to get downfield and make an impact.

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Physicality

Lacy will battle for yardage with tenaciousness but his lack of size can lead to him being easy to re-route on passing plays and makes him inefficient as a contested catch option.

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With that said, he has shown that he can hang onto the ball when he takes a big hit over the middle.

Special Teams

Lacy was an excellent return man in college, averaging 24.4 yards per kickoff return and 10.9 per punt return with four total return touchdowns. Those numbers were boosted by his 2025 season in which he had two punt return touchdowns and led the ACC with an 18.2 yards per return average.

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He also muffed five punts and one kickoff during his college career.

Instincts and Intelligence

Lacy displays excellent open field vision, with his experience as a running back in high school no doubt aiding him in that area. He also has developed a knack for finding the soft spot in zone coverages.

Here’s a good example of Lacy’s awareness being at a high level, as he realizes the low punt may have hit his teammate which would constitute a muff. He hustled to make the recovery and, although it turned out that it didn’t matter because the ball hit an opposing player first, it was impressive to see him react faster than anyone else to the danger.

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Attitude

Lacy is a player with a good work ethic and competitive toughness. There was a minor backlash when he opted to redshirt the 2024 season but that was probably because Louisville fans thought he might transfer again or enter the draft, whereas he actually returned to play for them in 2025.

On-field discipline has not been an issue as he had just seven penalties in six years with never more than two in any one season.

Injuries

Lacy’s 2024 season was basically ruined by a broken collarbone in preseason. He returned in the middle of the season and played four times, but his eventual decision to redshirt suggests he may have come back too soon. He otherwise hasn’t been affected by injuries.

Scheme Fit

Lacy’s best hope of making the Jets’ roster, or at least remaining in their plans, is to make an impact as a return man. If he does, then opportunities to contribute in the slot may follow.

His competition for this role would include the 2025 Jets MVP Isaiah Williams and last year’s preseason favorite Jamaal Pritchett, who was actually a teammate of Lacy’s at South Alabama.

Conclusions

Lacy is the latest in a series of recent undersized return specialist who has dynamic film but disappointing workout numbers. Many of those have been success stories in the NFL and Lacy will hope to enjoy the same success.

It should be regarded as significant that the Jets guaranteed $247,500 of Lacy’s salary and gave him a $15K signing bonus. That’s not an outlandish sum given what they’ve paid to undrafted rookies in recent years, but it is notable this time because no other undrafted rookie got $25K, let alone $250K.

This change in policy for the Jets signifies that they probably don’t anticipate having as much room for undrafted rookies to make the team or practice squad as in the past but the guarantees paid to Lacy suggest that he is one who is obviously in their plans.

Unless he blows away the competition for a return role during preseason, or earns a role by default due to injury, you can probably expect Lacy to spend most of the year on the practice squad waiting for his shot.

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