The 2026 NFL Draft is almost upon us, and teams are nearing finalization on the direction they want to take with the prospects available to them. Despite the lack of top-tier quarterback options, the draft class as a whole is filled to the brim with talent at virtually every position.
Among those spots is wide receiver, where there are a plethora of options. However, Makai Lemon has solidified himself as one of the best players almost unanimously. Still, one analyst has serious reservations about the USC product.
Is Makai Lemon Worth the Investment in the 2026 NFL Draft?
A loaded wide receiver class has players like Carnell Tate and Jordyn Tyson as exemplary prospects for teams to choose from. However, Lemon, after three years with the Trojans, stands toe to toe with each one of them.
As his opportunities increased within the offense, his numbers blossomed in a flash. Now the third-ranked wide receiver in the draft according to PFSN, he put up 1,156 receiving yards and 11 touchdowns in his final year at USC.
As a result, his value has soared in recent weeks, despite his relatively small size. However, for Derrik Klassen of The Athletic, the 5-foot-11, 192-pound frame is too much to overlook. Speaking for “The Athletic Football Show,” he revealed his reservations.
“If you just look at him, for me, at wide receiver, I’m like, ‘That’s not a first-round pick.'”
For most mock drafts, Lemon has far surpassed the first-round pick discussion and risen to one of the top picks in this year’s class.
The latest mock draft from PFSN’s Ian Cummings, too, had him going seventh overall to the Washington Commanders, where he could form a potentially lethal duo with Terry McLaurin.
But Klassen remains unmoved. “I see more of, like, a Khalil Shakir-type, and, like, that’s a good player. You can’t take that in the top-15. That’s absurd to me.”
The raw numbers might not agree with the comparisons Klassen is throwing around.
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Ranked at No. 4 on PFSN’s College Football Wide Receiver Impact, Lemon had unreal production, making him the ninth-ranked overall prospect in the class. With his combination of elite route-running and the ability to rack up yards after the catch, he has the potential to be one of the next great wide receiving threats in the NFL.
Undeniably, there remains a certain level of risk that teams have to take when drafting a wide receiver high in the first round. But with everything that Lemon has shown so far in his collegiate career, he seems like a worthy selection for that penchant.
