Makai Lemon arrived in Philadelphia with first-round draft capital and a clear runway to make an early impact. A hamstring strain wiped out chunks of his training camp and complicated all of it. The depth chart in front of him and the offense around him both work against a fast start. Fantasy managers should temper their expectations for the rookie in 2026.
Should You Draft Makai Lemon in Fantasy Football?
In PFN’s Free Fantasy Mock Draft Simulator, Lemon currently has an ADP of 104.8. Depending on how many people you have in your league, that’s about a round 11 pick. PFN fantasy experts Jason Katz and Kyle Soppe are a little bit higher on him than the consensus. They have him at 97th on their fantasy football rankings. That comes out to WR45 with a projected points per game of 10.17.
Honestly, my expertise is in the draft in particular, so I’m not one to usually take a massive stance from a fantasy perspective, but Lemon is somebody I’m absolutely stamping as a guy who could be an absolute steal in fantasy football. I watched him over his time at USC, and he’s a precise route runner with really impressive route salesmanship. He can bend the stem well, work the leverage point, accelerate well coming out of his breaks, and find a way to get open.
I think that with A.J. Brown gone in Philadelphia now, it opens up a massive target share in that Philadelphia offense. Say what you want about how much the Eagles threw the ball, or whether they should have thrown the ball more last year, but DeVonta Smith and A.J. Brown both still had over 1,000 receiving yards last year. Clearly, the top two receivers are still very highly targeted in that offense.
Dallas Goedert is in the mix as well. They did draft Eli Stowers, but all accounts say that he’s not necessarily performing very well in training camp, and that might mean he doesn’t have a massive role in the offense, at least in Year 1.
Unless you’re a big believer that Dontayvion Wicks or Hollywood Brown are going to have a massive chunk of those extra 1,000 yards that A.J. Brown is leaving behind, I think Lemon has serious potential to outperform his current ADP ranking.
If you have him at WR45, that’s like a WR4 or even a WR5, depending on how your draft goes. All things considered, I definitely think that Lemon is worth taking at his current ADP of 104.8. I think he has the potential to be a top-25 fantasy receiver this year. And if you can get that as your WR45 overall off the board, that has potential to be a massive steal for you down the line.
FANTASY RANKINGS: PFN’s FREE Fantasy PPR, Half-PPR, and Non-PPR Rankings
Makai Lemon’s Week 1 Fantasy Outlook
Analysis provided by PFN Analyst Kyle Soppe.
The 20th overall pick this April could well prove valuable with time, but it’s going to require just that: time.
The Eagles have ranked outside of the top 20 in pass attempts per game in 5 straight seasons, and moving on from A.J. Brown isn’t exactly a green light pointing to an increase in volume through the air.
I’m not comfortable starting him anywhere this week, but that doesn’t mean I’m out. There is a role to chase here, especially if you’re out on Dallas Goedert like I am, and Lemon did just post 79-1156-11 at USC.
I have a hard time thinking he returns weekly fantasy value, but as the leaves change, injuries set in, and bye weeks become a factor, you could sell me on the idea that he’s a reasonable roll of the flex dice in a plus matchup.
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Where Lemon Ranks Among 2026 Wide Receivers
- Jakobi Meyers | JAX
- Wan’Dale Robinson | TEN
- Michael Wilson | ARI
- Alec Pierce | IND
- Courtland Sutton | DEN
- Chris Godwin Jr. | TB
- Khalil Shakir | BUF
- Makai Lemon | PHI
- De’Zhaun Stribling | SF
- Jordan Addison | MIN
- Romeo Doubs | NE
Analysts Jason Katz and Kyle Soppe rank every wide receiver on PFN’s 2026 PPR Consensus Board.
