The 2026 NFL Draft will be a great event for teams to start building for their future. Here is the Makai Lemon NFL Draft Profile.
Position: Wide Receiver
School: USC
Size: 5-foot-11, 195 pounds
Class: Junior
2025 stats: 79 receptions, 1,156 receiving yards, 14.6 yards per reception, 11 touchdown receptions, 9 rushes, 4 rushing yards, 2 rushing touchdowns
Lemon was a four-star recruit in the class of 2023 who decided to stay in-state to play for USC. During his freshman year, he didn’t play much, registering six catches for 88 yards. He improved in 2024 to catch 52 passes for 764 yards and three touchdowns. Lemon broke out even more in 2025, as he hauled in 79 receptions for 1,156 yards and 11 touchdowns. He helped the team improve from seven to nine wins from 2024 to 2025.
Following the 2025 season, Lemon declared for the 2026 NFL Draft. He is currently projected to be a first-round pick.
Lemon is a great route-runner. He gets off the line of scrimmage with good acceleration and has nice releases. Lemon is able to make the breaks in his route quickly, creating solid separation. While he can add more routes to his route tree, he runs a decent amount and the ones he does run are done with good quality.
His ability to go over the middle and make plays makes him the perfect fit for an NFL slot receiver. He is not afraid of getting hit and has shown good focus in traffic. Lemon understands leverage and uses his high football IQ to find open space. He is a great security blanket player for a quarterback to utilize.
He has great hands with only two drops this past season. With how much he goes over the middle, that is impressive. He can make contested catches, despite being a shorter receiver, and can also make catches off of his frame with good body control. Lemon is a trustworthy target.
Lemon won’t likely test well at the NFL Combine. He is a quicker than fast player, which helps him in his route-running, but also gives him limited long speed. Teams will have to value his quickness, route-running and football intelligence over the possibility to create big plays over the top.
There are times when Lemon struggles with physical coverage. He can have troubles against press coverage, as it can momentarily stall his release and throw him off his route. Even later in the route, he can struggle to break free from some of the physical coverage he sees and can add more play strength to help with this.
While he played both inside and out in college, he is likely going to just play the slot at the next level. He is below six-foot tall and doesn’t have the size/speed combination that is typically coveted on the outside. This could hurt his fit for some teams based on their schemes or personnel currently on the roster.
Projected Draft Range: First Round Pick
Draft Grade: First Round Pick
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