With the No. 20 pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, the Philadelphia Eagles select … Makai Lemon, WR, USC!
The Birds traded with the dastardly Dallas Cowboys (gasp!) to move up to this selection.
The terms of the deal:
EAGLES RECEIVE — No. 20, 2027 seventh-round pick
COWBOYS RECEIVE — No. 23, No. 114, No. 137
Wow.
There was a lot of thought (including from yours truly) that the Eagles focus on the trenches and take an offensive tackle but they’re going flashy and taking a pass-catcher!
This moves all but seals A.J. Brown’s fate in Philly. If we exclude him, the Eagles now have Lemon, DeVonta Smith, Dontayvion Wicks, and Hollywood Brown as their top four projected wide receivers. Darius Cooper, Johnny Wilson, Elijah Moore, Britain Covey, and Danny Gray are also on the roster.
Perhaps the Eagles couldn’t pass on the value with this pick. Lemon was the No. 12 prospect on the 2026 Arif Hasan NFL Draft Consensus Big Board.
BGN’s own Jonny Page ranked Lemon as his WR2 in this year’s class, only behind Carnell Tate (who was selected at No. 4 overall):
Makai Lemon, USC. Overall: A versatile offensive weapon whose alignment flexibility, suddenness, physicality, and sure hands make him a reliable option at the next level. Lemon won the Biletnikoff Award as the nation’s top receiver and can line up inside or out, creating genuine schematic headaches for defenses.
Eagles Thoughts: I doubt he makes it to 23, but obviously, yes. Regardless of the AJ Brown situation. His versatility fits this offense perfectly, and he’d be a steal if somehow still available on Day 2.
Scouting report via NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein:
High-skill, high-volume slot receiver with average size but extraordinary ball skills. Lemon has room for refinement, but not much. He’s intelligent, confident and polished with the ability to make plays on all three levels. Tempo-driven route-runner who misdirects man coverage and separates out of turns but is fairly average after the catch. Quicker than fast, featuring early acceleration to open seam throws but flashes late burst when needed. More play strength is needed for NFL press and he needs to avoid rushing through multi-breaking routes. He’s an exceptional ball-tracker with excellent catch timing and few focus drops. He wins more combat catches than he loses. Lemon is a plug-and-play, quarterback-friendly talent with first-round value and Pro Bowl upside.
College stats via Sports Reference:
Spider graph via Mockdraftable:
Watch his highlights video:
Grade the pick
Remaining Eagles draft picks
1 (23) – Makai Lemon, WR, USC
2 (53) –
3 (64) –
3 (98) –
5 (178) –
6 (197) –
Remaining Eagles needs
Edge rusher
Tight end
Safety
Offensive guard