Makai Lemon

Draft night was a whirlwind for Lemon, who had hype as a potential top-10 pick but reportedly hurt his draft stock with unusual interviews at the 2026 Combine. He eventually went 20th overall, with the Eagles trading up to snipe the USC product while he was being informed over the phone that Pittsburgh would take him at No. 21. With A.J. Brown presumably on the way out this summer, Lemon joins an offense in transition under new offensive coordinator Sean Mannion, who is expected to replace HC Nick Sirianni as the Eagles' playcaller. The good news for Lemon is that he's joining a top organization and has a clear path to a starting job. The bad news? Philadelphia has rarely been a hotbed of target volume in the Jalen Hurts era, and the team already has an effective trio of short-pass catchers (WR DeVonta Smith, TE Dallas Goedert, RB Saquon Barkley). While massively productive during his college career, Lemon mostly operated from the slot and has average raw athleticism (4.50 pro-day 40 at 5-foot-11, 194). Philadelphia's plan for 2026 likely entails Smith running more deep routes than in the past, but it still looks like a tough place for a rookie to pile up big-time volume unless he's genuinely dominating in real life. Read Past Outlooks