With the Pittsburgh Steelers on the phone, Makai Lemon was moments away from taking center stage and drinking in a raucous ovation from the host city of the 2026 NFL Draft.
Then came another call that changed the trajectory of his burgeoning NFL career.
The Keystone State’s other football team, the Philadelphia Eagles, true to their mascot’s form, swooped in to steal the USC wide receiver from the Steelers.
“I was definitely shocked,” Lemon said of the Eagles trading up to select him. “Definitely. I couldn’t be more happy that they did. I’m super blessed.”
With Lemon being prepped by Pittsburgh to hear his name called as the No. 21 pick, general manager Howie Roseman and the Eagles traded up from No. 23 overall with their archrivals, the Dallas Cowboys, at No. 20.
“It was the right time, the right team,” Lemon said, “and everything worked out just how it was supposed to be.”
Lemon thought he was supposed to be a Steeler, joining a WR corps with DK Metcalf and Michael Pittman. An unexpected phone call later, he found out he’d be joining DeVonta Smith, Dontayvion Wicks and Marquise Brown on the Eagles. His draft night tale might well have better prepared him to deal with the drama that could come with playing for Philly and the wideout who will be viewed as the eventual replacement of A.J. Brown.
NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported shortly after Lemon was picked that the Eagles are operating with the expectation that Brown will be traded, likely after June 1.
Before any of that, of course, the Eagles did pull off a trade, calling Lemon to let him know they’d moved up and would be drafting him, not the team he was just on the phone with.
“First, I answered the phone and it was the Steelers, and then my phone kept ringing. I look and it’s the Eagles,” Lemon said. “They traded up and they were going to pick me. I feel like everything happens for a reason. They traded up, so it means a lot that they really want me. I’m all in, and they’re going to get everything that I got.”
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