{"id":292819,"date":"2026-09-24T07:18:07","date_gmt":"2026-09-24T07:18:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/292819\/"},"modified":"2026-09-24T07:18:07","modified_gmt":"2026-09-24T07:18:07","slug":"will-makai-lemon-meet-expectations-this-season","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/292819\/","title":{"rendered":"Will Makai Lemon Meet Expectations This Season?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Eagles<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"Credit: Photo: Mitchell Leff\/Getty Images <\/p>\n

About five months ago, I spent my night watching the 2026 NFL Draft at the popular (and infamous, depending on who you ask) sports bar, Garage. My Philadelphia Eagles weren\u2019t picking until pick 23, or about 9:45 pm, but my friends and I were on the clock, debating who to draft with our first DRINK.<\/p>\n

Doni, my IPA-aficionado friend of fifteen years, suggested a new beverage. \u201cYou\u2019ve got to try this new Stateside drink; it\u2019s called SuperLyte\u201d. I trust my boy Doni, so I didn\u2019t think twice when I said \u201cscrew it\u201d, but in a much more vulgar way. Right now, SuperLyte is the new trendy drink because it mixes vodka with an imitation Gatorade taste. After a few sips of its fruit punch flavor, I looked at Doni, shrugged, and said, \u201cNot worth the hype\u201d.<\/p>\n

Listen, I still trust Doni\u2019s beverage suggestions as much as I trust Howie Roseman\u2019s day one and day two draft selections this decade. So when we traded up with the Dallas Cowboys and selected AJ Brown heir-apparent Makai Lemon, like my second favorite Sixers GM Sam Hinkie, I trusted the process.<\/p>\n

Philadelphia\u2019s history with drafting receivers is well\u2014complicated. Reggie Brown struggled in the ruins of Terrell Owens forcing his way out of town. Desean Jackson was the closest thing to Flash in real life. Nelson Agholor couldn\u2019t track a ball. Jeremy Maclin was nothing special, but also the definition of dependable, and He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named was drafted before Justin Jefferson and confirmed a bust before age 24.<\/p>\n

Ironically, since that Reagor pick, Howie has locked in like Michael Jordan when he takes something personal. When your current WR1 is halfway out the door, you won\u2019t get a fuss out of me if you draft the 2025 Fred Biletnikoff Award winner. And then training camp started.<\/p>\n

A nagging hamstring injury hampered his start to OTAs and training camp. He fell behind in meaningful snaps while the offense got acquainted with a new play-caller, pieces, and plays.\u00a0My expectations weren\u2019t high to begin with, but it\u2019s been quite a rocky start for the USC alum.<\/p>\n

His first preseason game was underwhelming, but worse could be said for his first two games of the season. So far, Lemon has 4 receptions for 9 yards across two games, and 9 yards seems like a lot because all I can envision is him repeatedly getting crushed in the backfield on a bubble screen. Seriously, stop running the screens, Brian Joh\u2014, I mean Sean Mannion!<\/p>\n

Luckily, Devonta Smith, Dontayvion Wicks, and Dallas Goedert have had fantastic starts to the season, but Goedert is now nursing an MCL sprain and leaves a large void in Jalen Hurts\u2019 target share. I understand it\u2019s only been TWO GAMES but if there were ever a time for Makai to turn lemons into lemonade, it\u2019s now. Sorry I had to.<\/p>\n

Later that evening, as I reluctantly finished my fifth SuperLyte, Lemon was pulled aside and asked by the media what kind of player the Eagles selected, and he responded, \u201cThey got a dog\u201d. I hope the dog comes out soon, because I\u2019m getting concerned he may be like a fruit punch SuperLyte that\u2019s \u201cnot worth the hype\u201d.<\/p>\n

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Tags: #PhiladelphiaEagles<\/a> Eagles<\/a> Lemon<\/a> Makai<\/a> MakaiLemon<\/a> NFL<\/a> <\/p>\n

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