Week 1 saw the debut of almost all of this year's first-round rookie wide receivers, with the exception of the Saints' Jordyn Tyson, who remains on IR with a hamstring injury. But while much of the attention has gone to the Titans' No. 4 overall pick, Carnell Tate, who finished with just 38 yards on four catches, the Eagles' Makai Lemon by far had the worst day of any rookie debut. The former USC product hauled in three catches on four targets for -5 yards, two of which came at or behind the line of scrimmage.
He played 35 snaps (63.64% of the team's offensive total), the third most of any Eagles receiver, but finished last in receiving yards. Not exactly what Philly fans were hoping to see from the 20th overall pick in the draft. More news: Lions Cut Ties With Former Second Round Pick 48 Hours Before Season Opener Lemon came into the 2026 NFL Draft with serious hype.
He was coming off a dominant junior year at USC, where he totaled 1,156 receiving yards and 11 touchdowns on 79 catches across 12 games, averaging 14.6 yards per catch. He earned Unanimous All-American honors and won the Fred Biletnikoff Award, given annually to the best wide receiver in college football. He entered the draft drawing comparisons to Lions All-Pro receiver Amon-Ra St.
Brown, and the Eagles even traded with division rival Dallas to move up and take him. But the cherry on top was the A.J. Once Brown got dealt to New England, it felt like Lemon had landed in the perfect situation, with Jalen Hurts needing a clear No. 2 option to emerge immediately behind DeVonta Smith.
So far, though, that role appears to belong to veteran Dontayvion Wicks, a former fifth-round pick. More news: Todd Monken Noncommittal About Deshaun Watson as Browns Starting QB More news: Patriots’ Kayshon Boutte Trade Looks Even Worse After AJ Brown Injury News The Eagles still managed a narrow 24-22 win on Sunday over the Commanders without much help from Lemon, though that probably had more to do with Washington's mistakes than anything Philadelphia did right. Next week presents a prime bounce-back opportunity, with the Eagles traveling to Tennessee to face a Titans team that just gave up 23 points to the Jets.
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