Eagles Urged to Avoid Giving Makai Lemon Big Role as Rookie

Preseason doesn't really tell me a whole lot in the NFL, but for others, it's a good indication of what rookie seasons might look like for a few of the youngsters who do play. 

During preseason, many guys just get an opportunity to get their first taste in the NFL. That's something wide receiver Makai Lemon has been able to do, although he's also dealt with an injury throughout much of it. 

Lemon had an opportunity to play earlier in the week and didn't exactly impress. At prior points throughout the preseason, he wasn't much better.

I don't think it's fair to assess Lemon's game right now. This is a young man who has dealt with injuries and is trying to get up to speed. 

However, that hasn't stopped some from believing that he isn't ready to make an impact for Philadelphia just yet.

“He's supposed to be a factor, the complement to the outright No. 1 target in DeVonta Smith, within a newly installed Sean Mannion offense that expects to spread the ball around a whole lot more through the passing game. And maybe he still will be, eventually. But right now? No. Not yet.

“For as trivial as a third preseason game can usually be in the NFL, especially for projected starters, Friday night's finale at Lincoln Financial Field at least was able to make that much clear,” Nick Tricome wrote.

It's tough to say whether this is the right viewpoint on Lemon right now. Again, when Philadelphia drafted him in the first round, it hoped he could replace DeVonta Smith's production, at least somewhat. 

Not that it was going to happen right away, but Smith is obviously going to be the guy who replaces everything that AJ Brown did, and Philadelphia needs somebody to come in and do what he's done. 

To ask a rookie to do that would have been tough already, but Lemon was arguably the best wide receiver in all of college football last season. I would slow down on questioning him just yet, however, until he's fully healthy and has been on the field for longer than a month.