Ultimately, the Philadelphia Eagles selected Makai Lemon out of the University of Southern California because he's among the elite at the wide receiver position.
All he's proven throughout his college career is that he can be one of the better players in the country at any given moment, and that's something the Eagles need on that side of the football.
With the expectation that AJ Brown won't be on the roster any longer after June 1, as there is expected to be a trade that sends him away from Philadelphia, Lemon will need to fit into that role. Of course, that's much easier said than done, but everything points to him being the leader to win the job, even with all of the other moves the Eagles have made on the wide receiver front this offseason.
“Makai Lemon, WR, Eagles: Lemon is the leader in the clubhouse for WR2 behind DeVonta Smith (assuming A.J. Brown is traded), but it's tough to feel great about his potential for drawing volume on a run-heavy team such as the Eagles. However, any injury to Smith will immediately put Lemon in a position for eight-plus (and even 10-plus) targets per game, as there are no incumbent veterans (save for Dallas Goedert) in his way. He goes from an afterthought to potential leader in the clubhouse should that domino fall,” ESPN wrote.
The Eagles have made trades, signed veteran free agents, and done other things to improve on that side of the football. It was obvious that adding to the wide receiver room was a big priority for Howie Roseman.
The even more impressive part of Lemon's early days in Philadelphia is that he seems to have a strong mentality. That's been talked about by a lot of his former coaches and teammates, something that should fit in well in a city like Philadelphia.
“You have a perception of us out here in California, pretty laid-back, and we have a perception of you guys in Philadelphia, man, you don’t play,” Ray Fenton, his former high school coach, said. “It’s either on [or] off, just like how ’Kai is, right? And I think you guys even booed Santa Claus one time. So you guys are pretty intense over there.
“You drafted the guy that’s going to match the city’s intensity when it comes to pro football.”