MakaiLemon

Oct 12

Here’s a positive one: I’m liking the growth I’m seeing from Makai Lemon, who is really starting to look like an NFL receiver.

Very tough start to the year for Lemon, and I have to admit I wondered if it was going to be a lost season for the Eagles’ rookie 1st-round pick. But the Eagles stuck with him, and it’s starting to pay off. Maybe not in the big numbers you’d like to see from the 20th pick in the draft but at least he’s making plays and starting to look like he belongs. After catching four passes for nine yards the first two weeks, he had 6-for-56 in the losses to the Bears and Rams and had career highs with four catches for 36 yards Sunday, including a clutch 18-yard gain for a first down on a 3rd-and-10 in the third quarter. Lemon is tough, he contributes when he doesn’t get the ball with his blocking, he seems to know how to get open and he’s getting better each week. Encouraging signs from the rookie.

Oct 12

DeVonta Smith missed his second straight game with a hamstring injury, while Hollywood Brown missed his third game with an ankle injury. During the first two weeks of the season, Dontayvion Wicks was the Eagles' X receiver, Smith was the Z and Makai Lemon was the slot receiver in 11 personnel. Darius Cooper backed up Wicks, while Brown backed up Smith and Lemon. Last week, Cooper took Smith's spot as the Z receiver, while Elijah Moore emerged as the fourth receiver on the depth chart. Moore got the start alongside Wicks, but the Eagles largely stuck with the same strategy as last week. Moore rotated in more often in the first half, cutting into the playing time of all three lead receivers. However, in the second half, Philadelphia stuck with the top three receivers on its depth chart. The wide receiver rotation will be one to watch once Smith returns. Lemon has been the clear slot receiver, with Wicks, Smith and Cooper playing out wide. Wicks has played well for Philadelphia, but Cooper has arguably outplayed him. We could see the two rotate more frequently going forward, hurting both players' fantasy value.