Pro Football Rumors
Makai Lemon was recently injured during spring practices. The rookie Eagles wideout is expected to be fully healthy in time for the summer, though.
Lemon is currently dealing with a soft-tissue injury, Eliot Shorr-Parks of 94 WIP reports. Teammate Quinyon Mitchell clarified (via The Athletic’s Brooks Kubena) this is a hamstring issue. Per Shorr-Parks, this year’s No. 20 pick will not participate further in OTAs. A return in time for training camp is anticipated, however.
Lemon spent the pre-draft process as one of the consensus top wideouts on the board. Carnell Tate and Jordyn Tyson were both selected in the top 10, and the Rams’ decision to take quarterback Ty Simpson 13th led to a longer-than-anticipated wait in Lemon’s case. The Steelers looked into a move up the board, but in the end the draft’s hosts remained in place at the No. 21 slot.
That opened the door for Philadelphia to swing a trade and draft Lemon 20th overall. The USC product will be counted on to operate as a key figure on offense early and often in the NFL. Lemon represents one of several new faces on an Eagles WR depth chart which has undergone a number of changes this offseason. Monday brought about the expected news of A.J. Brown being dealt from Philadelphia to New England.
With Brown no longer in the fold, DeVonta Smith will be tasked with remaining a focal point in the passing game. Meanwhile, free agent addition Marquise Brown and trade acquisition Dontayvion Wicks will serve as important options on that front as well. The same will be true of Lemon, provided he can recover in full ahead of training camp and avoid any other setbacks with respect to injuries over the coming months.
2026 will mark the beginning of the post-Brown era for Philadelphia. The team will also have a new offensive coordinator (Sean Mannion) in the fold as better consistency and efficiency is sought out. Lemon is set to miss a small portion of non-contact practices in the near term, but he should manage to carve out an important role for himself upon returning to the field as part of a revamped pass-catching group.
