NFL Draft: Eagles move up, select WR Makai Lemon of USC in 1st round
Birds make a trade with the Cowboys
Delaware County Daily Times: https://tinyurl.com/bd3vrfwx
PHILADELPHIA — The Eagles, in a surprising deal with the archrival Dallas Cowboys, traded up from No. 23 to select All-American wide receiver Makai Lemon out of Southern California at No. 20 in the first round of the NFL draft Thursday night.
By selecting Lemon with their first pick, the Eagles all but confirmed their expected plans to part ways with A.J. Brown, who has repeatedly expressed frustration with the offense.
The 5-foot-11, 192-pound Lemon won the Biletnikoff Award as the nation’s top college receiver last season, hauling in 79 passes for 1,156 yards — the most yards in the Power Four conferences. He caught 11 touchdowns for the Trojans (9-3) last year.
The move was another Philly win over Pittsburgh this week. After the Flyers went up 3-0 on the Penguins in the opening round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, the Eagles swooped in and scooped Lemon away from the Steelers, who were expecting to take him at No. 21.
He was on the phone with Pittsburgh when the Eagles drafted him after trading up with just a few minutes left on the clock at No. 20.
“I answered my phone and it was the Steelers, and then my phone kept ringing and it’s the Eagles,” Lemon said during a videoconference with reporters in Philadelphia. “They traded up and they were going to pick me. I feel like everything happened for a reason. It means a lot that they really wanted me. I’m all-in, and they’re gonna get all that I got.
“I was definitely shocked, but I couldn’t be more happy, so I’m super-blessed. It was the right time and the right team. Everything worked out just how it’s supposed to be.”
Despite his relative lack of size and the fact he mostly played in the slot at USC, Lemon has proven to be well-built and durable. He ran a 4.53 40 at the NFL combine, where the Eagles first met with him.
They later brought him in for a “Top 30” visit at the Jefferson Health Training Complex. (Teams are permitted to invite up to 30 players to their facility before the draft.) He played some basketball with coach Nick Sirianni.
“It was great vibes, genuine vibes,” Lemon said, smiling. “Everybody was loving. I definitely did shoot some hoops. I let the coach win, you know, I’ll say that. … I gotta get a rematch. I ain’t gonna let him win next time.”
The Birds’ biggest needs entering the draft were on defense, but Lemon was high on their draft board. General manager Howie Roseman saw an opportunity to grab him.
“We just felt that this was a player we wanted to go up and get,” Roseman said. “It just felt like it made a lot of sense based on our board. Obviously, when you have a player that you like who is ranked higher on your board than where you’re picking, you think every pick he’s going to be selected. That’s just the way the draft is. You think everybody is picking the way you are.
“Certainly for us, we didn’t want to sit on our hands. We wanted to go and get him, so that’s why I made the trade.”
The Eagles dealt their first-round pick and both of their fourth-round picks (No. 114 and No. 137) to Dallas. Entering Day 2 of the three-day draft — which is being held in Pittsburgh, though teams make their selections from their respective headquarters — the Eagles now have the 54th overall pick (second round), the 68th and 98th picks (third round), 178th (fifth round) and 197th (sixth round).
“There’s a lot to like about him,” Roseman said. “Competitive. He has the ability to separate in man coverage. In the slot. Can play outside. Physical player. Really good with the ball in his hands. Really good hands. Good in zone coverage. Has really good instincts.”
The sure-handed Lemon, 21, was targeted 130 times last season and had only two drops. He has a knack for finding open space and aggressively creating yards after the catch. He also has no aversion to mixing it up with defenders as a blocker.
“I love his toughness,” Sirianni said. “I think this guy’s a tough, tough football player with the way he carries the football, when he has the football in his hands, and how he blocks. Insanely competitive, so there’s a lot to like. Really excited that he’s added to our roster.”
Lemon’s production steadily grew in college. He didn’t see the field much as a freshman, but played in 12 games as a sophomore, starting six, in which he had 52 catches for 764 yards and three TDs before his breakout 2025 season as a junior.
He was ranked among the top three wide receivers by all analysts at ESPN, Fox, NFL.com, Sports Illustrated and Pro Football Focus, frequently slotting at No. 1.
“(Fans) are gonna get someone who wants to come in and compete at a high level,” said Lemon, a native of Orange County, Calif. “A dog, somebody that’s just gonna do anything the organization needs me to do — at high level — playing for my teammates and leading by example.”
This was the second time in six years that the Eagles traded with Dallas in the first round of the draft. In 2021, they moved up from No. 12 to No. 10 to take wideout DeVonta Smith.
“Man, the organization, it’s a winning program,” Lemon said of the Eagles. “Great guys on the team that I can learn from, great vets, especially Smitty (DeVonta Smith) and (Jalen) Hurts, and a great defense. So I’m pumped to come in and add what I can do as a player. They’re gonna get everything that I’ve got.”
The Eagles enter Day 2 of the draft with a need for reinforcements on the offensive line, edge rusher, cornerback and safety.
Follow Christiaan DeFranco on X and Threads at @the_defranc.