For anyone thinking this 2026 NFL Draft would be a ho-hum, stay-at-No. 23-in-the-first-round kind of Thursday night … please meet the Philadelphia Eagles and Executive Vice President/General Manager Howie Roseman.
If there is a chance, any chance – cue Jim Carrey from "Dumb And Dumber" – Roseman is going to probe, prowl, and, in fast order, pounce. That's what he did on Thursday night, moving from the team's first-round position to No. 20, dealing the Dallas Cowboys the 23rd overall pick, the 114th pick and the 137th selection – both of those picks in the fourth round – to select USC wide receiver Makai Lemon. The Eagles also got a 2027 seventh-round pick in return.
And from the words that Roseman and Head Coach Nick Sirianni said and the way they gushed about Lemon when the first round ended, well, you understood perfectly why the Eagles made the move they did.
In Lemon, they see a tough, complete, and highly productive player who at USC earned first-team All-American honors last season. Lemon's 2025 campaign was remarkable for the Trojans – he won the Biletnikoff Award as the nation's top wide receiver, catching 79 passes for 1,156 yards and 11 touchdowns in 12 games. He was a unanimous first-team Associated Press All-American selection and a first-team All-Big Ten Conference pick.
"When you watch Makai," Sirianni said as he walked from the post-Round 1 press conference to the Draft Room at the Jefferson Health Training Complex, "you see someone who has the ability to create separation on the outside. Now, you create separation everywhere, but there are more contested catches on the outside sometimes, it feels like. He has insane ability to make contested catches. He's strong for his size – his body is strong, his hands are strong.
"Sometimes when you're in the slot, you're facing more zone coverage – everyone has to win in this league against man coverage and when you're inside you also have to find zones in an area, some spots to separate – and there is carryover in his game in that respect when he's inside, too. Both inside and outside, he separates. That's why I think he's able to play both inside and outside and do both at a really high level."
Roseman is the one who pulled the trigger, making another deal with Dallas to select a wide receiver – it worked out pretty well in the 2021 NFL Draft when the Eagles selected DeVonta Smith with the No. 10 overall pick – and giving up some fourth-round cache that he valued.
But in Roseman's mind, in the Eagles' minds, Makai was worth it. Is worth it. He adds to a wide receiver room that has seen high investment in this offseason – the Eagles signed Hollywood Brown and Elijah Moore in free agency and traded for Dontayvian Wicks – to give new Offensive Coordinator Sean Mannion more weapons. More options. More versatility. More favorable matchup scenarios.
"There's a lot to like about him," Roseman said. "Has the ability to separate in man coverage. At the slot. Can play outside. Physical player. Really good with the ball in his hands. Really good hands. Good in zone coverage. Has really good instincts."
Roseman saw a player that he loved still on the board and went for it. He does this quite a bit if you haven't noticed – six of the last eight first rounds, the Eagles have moved up – and his track record is impressive.
Lemon, a confident young man as receivers are, promised only to be a great teammate and that the Eagles "would get everything that I've got." This is the first step, making the draft pick. He will get to Philadelphia on Friday and tour the Complex for a second time – he had a Top 30 pre-draft visit with the Eagles and loved the "vibe" and the "genuine" feeling from the organization.
Next, the coaches will start with him and we will see how Lemon develops. And then how he fits into the offensive scheme. The Eagles have so much depth and talent at wide receiver and Lemon is going to have to make the most of his reps.
What this all means is that the Eagles did what they have done so well for a franchise that has made the playoffs for five straight seasons, with a pair of Super Bowl appearances and one Lombardi Trophy to show for it. There is competition in the wide receiver room and storylines to sort through.
"We just felt that this was a player that we wanted to go up and get just based on what our board was like at that time and where we were picking," Roseman said. "It just felt like it made a lot of sense based on our board. Obviously, when you have a player that you like, that is ranked higher on your board than where you are picking, you think that every pick he's going to be selected. That's just the way the Draft is. You think that everybody is picking the way that you are.
"Certainly for us, we didn't want to sit on our hands. We wanted to go and get hm and so that's why I made the trade."
And we're off and, well, flying. There are two more nights/days to go here and the Eagles have three selections lined up for Friday night and another two on Saturday. Roseman, as you know, is going to rock and roll and move where he sees an opportunity to make this a better football team, so as usual buckle up and enjoy the Draft ride this weekend.
