What the film says about Eagles first-round draft pick Makai Lemon

PITTSBURGH — Makai Lemon flashed a big smile, sitting at the podium inside of Acrisure Stadium when he was asked about a former Eagles player with California roots whom he looked up to as a kid.

DeSean Jackson, a Los Angeles native, was one of Lemon’s favorite receivers growing up. Now Lemon, the Los Alamitos native, which is just south of Los Angeles, will don an Eagles jersey himself.

“That’s truly a blessing. To know what he has done for the organization, I just hope [I can] follow in his footsteps, [with] what he did on the field,” Lemon said. “He was a baller. ... [I’m] grateful to be in a position that I’m at right now.”

» READ MORE: A.J. Brown was always leaving the Eagles. Drafting Makai Lemon just confirmed that reality.

Lemon may not have the same electrifying speed that Jackson once haunted defenses with, but the 5-foot-11, 195-pound receiver is similarly electric with the ball in his hands. The USC standout had a breakout 2025 season, finishing with 79 catches, 1,156 yards, and 11 touchdowns as the top receiving option, though most of his damage came as a slot receiver.

The Eagles traded up to get Lemon and sent two fourth-round picks to the Dallas Cowboys to ensure they would get the wideout. What kind of skill set does he bring and how can he fare in the Eagles’ offense?

Here’s what his film showed:

Lemon could fill up a highlight reel with how often the first defender to make contact with him doesn’t bring him down. According to Pro Football Focus, Lemon had 502 of his 1,156 receiving yards after the catch, and forced 21 missed tackles.

Arm tackles do not bring Lemon to the ground. He is strong enough in his upper body to shrug off tacklers, and he’s always looking for and embracing contact as he’s finishing runs, which allows him to pick up extra yards.

USC coach Lincoln Riley made sure to get the ball in Lemon’s hands with room to run. According to TruMedia, Lemon had 28 of his 137 career receptions (roughly 20%) at 5 yards of depth or less. They were often tunnel screens, where Lemon faked an outside route and came back through the line of scrimmage with blockers in front, swing screens off motions, or bubble screens outside the numbers.

Giving Lemon a runway creates more opportunities for him to pick up extra yardage. He is not a twitchy player and doesn’t have quite the same gear as some of the other draft prospects in this class, but he makes up for it by creating big plays after the catch.

There is a fearlessness with Lemon that allows him to elevate and make tough catches in contested situations, specifically on throws over the middle of the field.

Whether the throws are between the seams of the field with safeties bearing down or between linebackers, Lemon isn’t afraid to extend and leave his body exposed to potential hits in that area of the field.

Lemon’s route running when he’s aligned in the slot, and even as an outside receiver, allows him to open up throwing windows when he is targeted in the middle of the field and downfield. According to TruMedia, Lemon had a 49.2% successful play rate vs. man coverage, as he displayed the ability to hit defensive backs’ blind spots.

According to PFF, Lemon only played outside receiver 222 of his 756 snaps, and he showed excellent body control and ball-tracking ability when he aligned outside the numbers on vertical throws.

Lemon won’t primarily live as an outside receiver, though, because he struggles to consistently win at the line of scrimmage against press man coverage and lacks the top-end speed to beat corners deep. Still, he caught 10 of his 14 contested catch attempts in 2025.

Lemon could be most valuable for the Eagles’ offense in the red zone. Per TruMedia, Lemon scored eight of his 14 total receiving touchdowns from 25 yards and in, when his ability to win at the catch point really shined.

From short dump-off passes to slot fades and crossing routes, Lemon had a knack for getting himself open enough and finishing in those scenarios. If you include rushing touchdowns, 10 of Lemon’s 16 touchdowns from scrimmage were in the red zone, evidence of his value in USC’s offense to be a ball carrier, in addition to his pass-catching prowess.

Lemon’s usage should include moving him pre-snap to create favorable matchups against nickels, safeties, and linebackers, and to get easy touches in space. Expecting him to consistently separate as an outside receiver or statically in the slot would not be an ideal way to deploy him.

Middle-of-the-field routes, like crossing concepts and slants, slide routes in the short passing game off play-action bootlegs, and screens that give Lemon a runway would best accentuate his skill set.

The payoff for Lemon could take a few years to achieve, but if the Eagles are committed to an offense that creates easy throws for Jalen Hurts and unlocks the short-area passing game, we’ll look back on this first-round selection fondly.