The Eagles traded up in Round 1 to land Lemon following a season where he won the Fred Biletnikoff Award for being the best college receiver. He'll get picked in every redraft league around Round 9, and in every rookie-only draft with a top-four pick (if not top-two depending on format). The 5-foot-11, 192-pounder isn't the biggest nor the fastest, but he knows how to get open and uses his lateral agility and practiced route-running to do it. He's got great hands (three drops over 175 targets in his past two seasons), incredible toughness, terrific ball tracking, and NFL-ready versatility to make plays lining up anywhere. Sharing the field with DeVonta Smith and Dallas Goedert in 2026 might not yield a huge target share right away, and a pair of hamstring issues that sidelined him twice between May and August isn't encouraging, but with Goedert potentially off the team by 2027, Lemon's chances to be a major contributor long-term are strong.
Fantasy Stats
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2025
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2024
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Fantasy News
Eagles' Makai Lemon: Unlikely to break camp as starter
Rotowire
Lemon appears unlikely to start for the Eagles early in the season while he's missed time in the spring and during training camp due to a lingering hamstring injury, Jimmy Kempski of PhillyVoice.com reports.
Selected with the 20th overall pick of the 2026 NFL Draft, Lemon was expected to be an immediate contributor for the Eagles following a dazzling final season at USC in which he took home the Fred Biletnikoff Award as the nation's top receiver. Unfortunately for the 5-foot-11, 192-pound wideout, he's had few opportunities thus far with the Eagles to showcase his skills, as he's taken limited reps even on the days that the hamstring issue hasn't kept him off the practice field. Lemon still has time to get healthy and make a case for earning a sizable role Week 1, but at this stage of camp, offseason pickup Dontayvion Wicks may have the early edge on opening the season as the Eagles' No. 2 wideout behind DeVonta Smith.
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Eagles' Makai Lemon: Still sidelined by hamstring injury
Rotowire
Lemon (hamstring) isn't practicing Friday, Dave Zangaro of NBC Sports Philadelphia reports.
Lemon and DeVonta Smith first missed practice Tuesday, both due to hamstring injuries. Neither has returned yet, and while reports don't suggest anything serious, Lemon previously dealt with a hamstring injury during the offseason program. In three seasons at USC, he missed just one game due to injury (a concussion in Sept. 2024).
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Eagles' Makai Lemon: Misses practice again
Rotowire
Lemon (hamstring) won't practice Wednesday, Zach Berman of The Athletic reports.
The same applies to DeVonta Smith (hamstring), but per Eliot Shorr-Parks of Sports Radio 94 WIP Philadelphia, neither player's hamstring issue is viewed as a long-term concern. As a rookie, the 2026 first-rounder has a chance to make his mark from a fantasy perspective while working alongside Smith in a Philadelphia WR corps that also includes Dontayvion Wicks and Hollywood Brown.
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Eagles' Makai Lemon: Dealing with minor hamstring injury
Rotowire
Lemon missed Tuesday's practice due to a hamstring injury that isn't expected to be a long-term concern, Eliot Shorr-Parks of Sports Radio 94 WIP Philadelphia reports.
With DeVonta Smith also absent due to a seemingly minor hamstring injury, the Eagles have Dontayvion Wicks and Hollywood Brown as their top healthy wide receivers. Reports from training camp suggest Lemon had been getting plenty of first-team work before the hamstring injury first impacted his availability Monday. After a limited practice to start the week, he seems to be sitting out entirely Tuesday morning.
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Eagles' Makai Lemon: Not practicing Tuesday
Rotowire
Lemon (undisclosed) isn't practicing Tuesday, Olivia Reiner of The Philadelphia Inquirer reports.
Lemon didn't do team drills at Monday's practice and is now absent for the start of Tuesday's session. He's likely dealing with a minor injury, but neither player nor team has commented on the situation yet.
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Eagles' Makai Lemon: Dealing with hamstring injury
Rotowire
Lemon did not participate in Tuesday's practice due to a hamstring injury, Brooks Kubena of The Athletic reports.
The 2026 first-round pick observed practice off to the side with his right leg in a compression sleeve. Following Monday's trade of A.J. Brown to the Patriots, Lemon is expected to operate as the Eagles' WR2 alongside DeVonta Smith this season. The severity of his hamstring injury isn't clear, but it wouldn't be a surprise if Lemon is done for the remainder of OTAs, with the focus being on having him fully healthy for training camp in July.
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Eagles' Makai Lemon: Working with starters at OTAs
Rotowire
Lemon is working with the starters during 7-on-7 drills at OTAs on Wednesday, Eliot Shorr-Parks of Sports Radio 94 WIP Philadelphia reports.
Lemon is already working with Jalen Hurts and the starting offense one month after having joined the Eagles in the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft, 20th overall. Of course, with A.J. Brown and Dontayvion Wicks not present for voluntary OTAs, as Jeff McLane of The Philadelphia Inquirer reports, Lemon is currently only competing with Hollywood Brown and Elijah Moore for starting reps behind DeVonta Smith. In the event that the Eagles do eventually part ways with Brown via trade after June 1, Lemon's path to an immediate stating role as a rookie will be clearer.
