He is quick, quiet, and sure with his hands, the kind of young man who does not waste steps or speak unless the ball is in the air. Makai Lemon would not need to be loud in Baltimore, where they value men who fight for inches in the cold and the dark. He would only need to be open. And he always is.
Whether They Want To Admit It or Not, the Ravens Need Receivers
As PFSN’s Mark Stolte pointed out, if the Baltimore Ravens are picking here, they didn’t go as far as they hoped. If that’s the case, they could do far worse than grab USC wide receiver Lemon.
“This allows them to draft Makai Lemon out of USC, who finished with an 85.1% slot percentage,” Stolte wrote. “Lemon’s best ability was getting open and making the best of his opportunities. He caught 77.6% of his targets in 2024, ranking 181st of 946 in that category, and registered a ridiculously impressive one drop on 67 catches, good for 1.9% (51 of 520).”
Lemon is 5’11”, 190 lbs, and finished 2024 with 52 receptions for 764 yards and three touchdowns, averaging 14.7 yards per catch. He also returned 19 kicks for 514 yards, averaging 27.1 yards per return.
The Ravens have Zay Flowers as their dynamic inside/outside threat, but adding Lemon would give Lamar Jackson a true chain-moving slot — think of a younger version of Amon-Ra St. Brown or Tyler Boyd.
Lemon thrives on short to intermediate routes — slants, drags, option routes. He has crisp footwork and the ability to uncover in zone. He can also take screens and quick throws and turn them upfield.
He’d be a welcome addition since Rashod Bateman has yet to prove consistency, Odell Beckham Jr. is gone, Nelson Agholor is again at depth, and Flowers needs someone to pull attention underneath.
Lemon would be a great WR2/3 hybrid who can reliably get open in the middle of the field. That would play into the hands of Jackson, who is best when working with sure-handed short-area targets.
Offensive coordinator Todd Monken runs a balanced scheme that heavily uses play action, pre-snap motion, and a three-wide receiver spread to open the middle. That fits Lemon’s profile to a T. Couple him with Flowers attacking on outside leverage and giving tight end Mark Andrews deeper seams to work with, and it would be a reasonably complete receiver grouping.
If Baltimore does end up in this spot and doesn’t reach for size and just draft for NFL-ready impact, Lemon is their best bet.
