Makai Lemon did not run the 40-yard dash at the 2026 NFL Scouting Combine. The USC wide receiver and 2025 Biletnikoff Award winner participated in on-field position drills in Indianapolis but skipped the timed 40, the three-cone, and the vertical jump. He ran two weeks later at USC’s Pro Day on March 12. USC announced his time as 4.46 seconds.
Lemon’s Combine participation was selective: the on-field receiver drills, the gauntlet, the catching work, and nothing else. The plan was to save the athletic testing for Pro Day. That, however, is a common strategy for polished receivers with first-round tape who would rather control the conditions and the timing setup.
Makai Lemon’s Combine Performance in the Spotlight
The on-field work was strong. CBS Sports’ JP Acosta graded his workout an A-. “Makai Lemon didn’t test, but man, he looked smooth throughout drills and the gauntlet,” Acosta wrote. “His acceleration was top-notch, he stayed straight down the line, and despite one drop in the gauntlet, he caught the ball well during routes on air.” ESPN’s Jordan Reid flagged his route stems and fluidity in and out of breaks. The Pro Day 40 confirmed the speed-on-tape profile.
The interviews are the actual story moving the board. Former NFL defensive lineman Breiden Fehoko relayed a scout’s comment that Lemon “absolutely bombed” his team-interview sessions. Jets insider Chris Nimbley echoed the report, saying the in-person sessions were “a disaster.”
Draft insider Robinson L. Whittmore added that four teams had reportedly taken Lemon off their draft boards as a result. Analysts described his on-camera demeanor as intense and off-putting. The substance of his answers was not controversial. The concern was the presentation.
The tape is the reason Lemon is in the Round 1 conversation. He won the 2025 Biletnikoff Award as the nation’s top wide receiver with 79 receptions for 1,156 yards and 11 touchdowns, the kind of full-season stat line that separates him from every other receiver in the class. He led the Power Four in receiving yards and was named the 2025 Polynesian College Football Co-Player of the Year.
His game is chain-moving route craft, not vertical threat. Catch radius comes in at above average for his size at 5-foot-11, 192 pounds. Contested-catch rate settles in at just above average. Release package is detailed and layered. Those are the three things a first-round receiver evaluation is built on when the 40 time is not elite.
Lemon has been compared to Amon-Ra St. Brown, a fellow USC product who ran a 4.51 at his Pro Day before becoming a two-time All-Pro.
He finished the season with an 85.1 PFSN CFB WR Impact Score (B).
Makai Lemon’s 2026 NFL Draft Projection
Lemon’s projection range has split. Kiper has him at No. 11 to Miami. Jordan Reid has him at No. 8 to New Orleans. Chad Reuter and Eric Edholm have him going to Washington at No. 7.
The Rams at No. 13 have been another commonly touted landing spot. The interview reporting has pushed some boards down into the back half of the first round, and Steelers beat writer Mark Kaboly has floated Lemon as a trade-up target for Pittsburgh if he slides past No. 15. According to PFSN’s NFL Mock Draft Simulator data, Lemon’s current ADP lands at 15.4.
Lemon has taken top 30 visits with the Rams, Titans, Browns, and Dolphins. That alignment of visits with the mock projections suggests the interview concerns have not scared off the most likely suitors. Teams that trust their own culture to absorb the personality variable are still in on the evaluation.
The ones that treat personality risk as a tiebreaker will move on. The receiver who won the Biletnikoff with 79 catches and 11 touchdowns is highly unlikely to fall out of the first round. The question is whether he goes in the top 10 or slides to the high teens.
