Senior Bowl wide receiver credits Bengals legend for helping him in crucial area leading up to the 2026 NFL Draft
T.J. Houshmanzadeh is training another future NFL wide receiver.
USC wide receiver Ja’Kobi Lane should hear his name called relatively early in the 2026 NFL Draft, but there’s plenty of work to do before he gets to enjoy that moment.
Lane is down at the Senior Bowl this week practicing with several other NFL hopefuls, and taking the first step of the pre-draft process. The steps he’s taken prior to his trip to Mobile were accompanied by one of the best players in Cincinnati Bengals history.
Former Bengals WR T.J. Houshmanzadeh gets credited for training another future NFL Draft pick
Lane has had an impressive beginning to his Senior Bowl week. The 6-4 wideout is one of the tallest pass-catchers in the upcoming draft, but he knows he needs more than length to win at the next level.
That’s where T.J. Houshmanzadeh comes in. Houshmanzadeh played eight of his 11 years in the league with the Bengals, and was a top-notch route runner during his peak. He now trains up-and-coming receivers transitioning from the college to pro level, including Jermaine Burton two years ago, and is helping Lane improve in this area.
“Yeah, through my draft process, I’ve been training with T.J. Houshmanzadeh,” Lane told A to Z Sports’ Travis May. “Trying to get my feet right, not necessarily depend on my size and my length to separate. Being able to really just revert back to the basics, getting my feet right, so that in times of fatigue or tiredness, that I just result back to those good footwork.”
A receiver as tall as Tee Higgins with the quick-twitch footwork of Houshmanzadeh would be a major weapon in the NFL. Cincinnati is pretty much set on the outside with Higgins and Ja’Marr Chase taking up both starting spots and loads of salary cap space, but Lane could absolutely be an instant difference-maker for a team in need of receiving help.
Lane and the rest of the Senior Bowl participants will be practicing Wednesday and Thursday leading up to Saturday’s game between the American and National rosters. Bengals assistant offensive line coach Michael McCarthy is coaching the National team o-line.