Makai Lemon, WR USC: 2026 NFL Draft Profile & Scouting Report

Lemon was a four-star recruit from Los Alamitos High School in Los Alamitos, Calif. in the class of 2023

USC Trojans wide receiver Ja'Kobi Lane is attracting some first round buzz this summer, but Makai Lemon is currently the best prospect in the program’s receiver room. Lemon faces some size limitations but is an excellent route runner with the speed to break big plays.

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Makai Lemon, WR USC: 2026 NFL Draft Profile

Classification: Junior slot receiver from Los Alamitos, Calif.

Background: Lemon was a four-star recruit from Los Alamitos High School in Los Alamitos, Calif. in the class of 2023. He was the No. 42 recruit according to 247Sports, No. 54 for Rivals, and No. 37 for On3.com. ESPN ranked him 13th in the nation (five-star) with a 90 grade out of 100. Lemon originally began his career at La Mirada High School before transferring to Los Alamitos. He committed to Oklahoma before flipping to USC. As a high school senior, Lemon made 69 receptions for 1,044 yards and 12 touchdowns to accompany a dozen tackles and an interception on defense and eight kickoff returns for 267 yards on special teams. He earned 2022 MaxPreps First Team All-American, All-CIF Division I Team, and Los Angeles Times All-Star Team honors, leading to him being a 2023 Under Armour All-American and receiving a Polynesian Bowl invitation. As a junior, Lemon made 65 receptions for 1,062 yards and 15 touchdowns on offense, 28 tackles with four interceptions and eight passes defensed on defense, and 12 kickoff returns for 355 yards on special teams. He was a MaxPreps First Team Junior All-American and earned All-State honors from several outlets. During a spring season as a sophomore, Lemon made 43 receptions for 756 yards and nine touchdowns. He added 15 tackles, four interceptions, and four passes defensed on defense and five punt returns for 132 yards on his way to earning a MaxPreps California First Team All-State selection. As a freshman at La Mirada, Lemon caught 57 passes for 784 yards and five touchdowns. He also produced 25 tackles, four interceptions, and two fumble recoveries. Lemon added a blocked punt and nine kickoff returns for 96 yards on special teams.

Injuries & Off-Field: Limited during parts of high school senior season with ankle injury, taken to a hospital after suffering an apparent head injury vs. Michigan (2024) and missed the next game against Wisconsin, limited during 2025 spring practices by a hamstring injury

Awards: 2024 Honorable Mention All-Big Ten (WR/Coaches & Media), 2024 Third Team All-Big Ten (Return Specialist/Coaches)

Pros: Special teams experience on kick return, kick coverage, punt return, and punt coverage units, successful kick returner, zippy athlete with good quickness, good long speed to generate big plays, speed to overtake and stack off-man corners, got behind Christian Gray several times (2024), manipulates leverage with route stem to force CB to open hips, difficult to stick with at top of stem, sharp deceleration and COD at top of stem, sudden but subtle COD disguises route stem, flexibility for sudden and sharp turns on comebacks and curls to separate, natural separator with route running at short to intermediate levels, finds zone hole between second and third level, feel for space vs. zones, works back to the football, drops are rare, natural hands catcher who makes grabs outside his frame, concentration at catch point, adjusts well for poorly thrown passes, body control, speed to create on schemed touches and do damage after the catch, speed to stress and challenge some pursuit angles, return man vision helps find cutback lanes and hidden YAC, spin move, battles and competes as a stalk blocker

Cons: Slot-only projection, undersized frame with limited length, athletic ability falls short of elite, beneficiary of many free releases, absorbs too much contact early in the route, struggles to separate when contacted early in press, top speed appears to fall short of elite, inconsistent ability to generate vertical separation, corners recover late on him on fades, catch radius isn’t anything special, not twitchy, play strength limits ability to break tackles

Overview: Lemon is a slot-only prospect because of his limited size who offers value returning kicks. He displays the quickness to separate from cornerbacks or evade tacklers in tight spaces and the long speed to generate explosive plays. Lemon benefits from many free releases and struggles when he absorbs too much contact early in the route. His lack of mass and arm length make it difficult for him to forcibly separate from jams against press coverage, but his footwork bails him out of these situations. Lemon uses his speed to overtake and stack corners in off-man coverage, as Notre Dame’s Christian Gray found out in 2024. Lemon’s route running is excellent. He manipulates the cornerback’s leverage early in the route and forces them to open their hips before breaking in the opposite direction. His sharp deceleration and high-end agility and change of direction make it difficult for corners to mirror him at the stem’s peak. The junior’s sharp route running and athletic traits create natural separation against tight coverage, especially at the short and intermediate levels. His top speed, while impressive, appears to fall short of elite. This makes his ability to generate vertical separation inconsistent. Cornerbacks recover to play the ball late during his fade routes. Lemon finds holes in zone coverage behind the defense’s second level and displays a natural feel for locating open space. The California native is a natural hands catcher who works back to the ball and plucks it outside his frame. He adjusts well to poorly thrown passes and showcases the concentration and body control at the catch point to finish difficult catches. His arm length limits his catch radius and ability to win in contested situations. Lemon quickly turns into a return man after the catch, using his vision and burst to secure extra yards. His speed stresses pursuit angles and makes him a viable outlet for schemed touches. Lemon’s vision reveals cutback opportunities and helps him create in the absence of tackle-breaking strength.

Overall, Lemon will draw criticism during the evaluation process for not meeting traditional height thresholds and lacking overwhelming speed, but his above-average athletic traits and polished play style put him at the caliber of a top 30 prospect. Lemon projects best as an offense’s second option with the talent to fill a high-volume role early in his career.

Role & Scheme Fit: Slot receiver in an 11-personnel heavy scheme

Round Grade: Early Second Round

Size: 5'11", 195 lbs. (Unofficial)

Submitted: 05-25-25