Each NFL Combine comes with celebration. Players hit their goals and celebrate their success, and others\u2019. Prospects put their best foot forward on the cusp of playing on Sundays. There are plenty of great stories worth sharing, and most do. The NFL Network does a great job highlighting them. Running back Mike Washington Jr. was in literal tears after his fast 40, and the Styles\u2019 family got their props for raising great athletes and men. It makes the mocking of USC WR Makai Lemon\u2019s combine interviews all the more disappointing. He\u2019s an unfair target of the Internet who did nothing wrong to begin with.<\/p>\n
For those less terminally online than us. Lemon\u2019s podium interview with the media went viral for how some perceived his answers.<\/p>\n
And I chose a \u201cnice\u201d one. The Internet had a field day with Lemon. Making fun of his mannerisms and the way he answered. It would be one thing if the story had confined itself to Twitter\u2019s airwaves as the daily dumb story of an endless 24-hour news cycle. But the story created rumors that Lemon was \u201cbombing\u201d his interviews with teams. Despite scant evidence or details over what he did wrong, the narrative was off and running.<\/p>\n
No one knows how Lemon performed in the interviews, including his formal with the Pittsburgh Steelers.<\/a> They\u2019re likely to vary. He could have a \u201cbad\u201d interview with one team and a great one 10 minutes later with the next. Rarely is it ever so black-and-white that a player is bad in every interview across the board.<\/p>\n Not to mention that any scouts leaking the information could be doing so for insidious reasons. Knock the kid so it goes public in an attempt to hurt his draft stock. A tale as old as time. This was something former Steelers GM Kevin Colbert spoke out about over a decade ago.<\/p>\n \u201cI think it\u2019s really bad for our profession when people use whatever means they use to get information out to try to influence the draft, and they talk about a kid\u2019s test score, a kid\u2019s injury, a kid\u2019s character,\u201d Colbert said in April of 2025<\/a>, as written by our own Scott Brown. \u201cI think that\u2019s awful. It\u2019s disrespectful to our profession, it\u2019s disrespectful to the game, it\u2019s disrespectful to the kid.\u201d<\/p>\n Last year, Deion Sanders made it clear the NFL hadn\u2019t changed.<\/p>\n \u201cYou have guys who are slated and slotted to go at this number of pick,\u201d he said during one interview.<\/a> \u201cRandomly, something comes out that they flunked a drug test. Or they have this type of injury. Or they were seen with this. And wildly, their draft grade drops.\u201d<\/p>\n Every report has an angle. Scouts don\u2019t give the information without an agenda or purpose.<\/p>\n Take Lemon\u2019s body language out of it. Read a transcript of the answers he gave. Nothing about that is bad. If anything, it was a solid interview full of thoughtful and nuanced answers. In fact, in the clip that went most viral, Lemon\u2019s answer was fantastic.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019d probably say Amon Ra-St. Brown,\u201d Lemon said when asked the type of receiver he models his game after.\u201d The type of grit he plays with. The way he can have a positive impact on the team without the ball in his hands.\u201d<\/p>\n An answer that focused on helping the team beyond just catching passes and scoring touchdowns. And he gets crushed for giving it just because of the way he looked at the reporters. Completely unfair.<\/p>\n Some other answers Lemon gave during his supposedly \u201cbad\u201d interview.<\/a><\/p>\n On his parents.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s my support system. Things gonna get tough, so falling back on them. The reason I\u2019m here today is a big part because of them. So I owe it all to them. I\u2019m super grateful to have them in my back pocket.\u201d<\/p>\n His biggest college challenge.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019d probably say just not seeing the field when I thought I was gonna see the field, not get on the opportunities presented to myself. It just taught me to be patient. Stay down and just keep working hard. Then, when they do come up, take full advantage and don\u2019t take any opportunity for granted.\u201d<\/p>\n On where he has improved.<\/p>\n \u201cProbably my speed and my physicalness. And then just an approach to the game with a more professional mindset.\u201d<\/p>\n Lemon was kind, responsive, and detailed to the 20-or-so questions he received throughout the session. Nothing raised a red flag. Check out the 5-minute interview Lemon held with Pro Football Talk\u2019s Chris Simms and Mike Florio<\/a>. Same thing; a perfectly fine interview.<\/p>\n Is it possible that Lemon was worse behind the scenes with teams? Maybe. The scope of questions is often different than what the media asks. But I can promise that, had Lemon\u2019s podium interview not gone viral, there\u2019s no \u201cleak\u201d about how Lemon presented himself to the media. It\u2019s merely a chance to pile on and drive the narrative home. He\u2019s an easy target for cheap clicks.<\/p>\n