Three Things To Know About USC Receiver Makai Lemon

Heading into the 2025 season, wide receiver Makai Lemon of the USC Trojans was a solid NFL prospect, but did not garner significant national attention. Now, almost a year later, Lemon has not only gotten that attention but also has become one of the more intriguing prospects in this draft.

After a stellar performance in 2025, Lemon has a great opportunity to be selected at the top end of the first round in tonight's NFL Draft. However, before Lemon begins his NFL career, there are a few things that people must know about him.

So, here are three interesting things about Makai Lemon as he begins his NFL career.

Gadget Player

In his career with the Trojans, Lemon became one of the more productive receivers in the country, especially during his final season when he won the Biletnikoff award as the nation's best receiver. In his 2025 campaign, Lemon recorded 79 receptions for 1,156 yards and 11 touchdowns.

Lemon's production last season was something USC heavily relied upon and helped Lemon to become a top-tier NFL prospect. While Lemon was a very productive receiver, his impact on offense doesn't stop there.

Under USC coach Lincoln Riley, Lemon was used in a variety of ways, but one of the more interesting ways was his ability to throw the ball, which created some big plays for the Trojans. This season, Riley drew up a wide receiver pass against Oregon, and Lemon was able to execute that successfully as he threw a touchdown.

In addition to his receiving and throwing talents, Lemon was able to contribute on the ground as a rusher. With his physicality and speed, he ran for two touchdowns and four yards on nine attempts.

No matter where Lemon is selected, there is no doubt that he can be a great contributor as a receiver, but also add a unique element to the offense as a gadget player to create constant problems for opposing defenses.

Former Two-Way Prospect

In the early part of his collegiate career with USC, Lemon did not start as a dominant receiver. As a result of the depth in the receiver room, Lemon had to play some defensive back, where he did have some mild success at the high school level.

With his experience on both sides of the ball at the college level, Lemon has a unique perspective on how to attack opposing defenses, which is a key reason why he was able to find great success as a receiver.

His understanding of defensive coverages and the space that they leave open has also helped Lemon to pick apart all sorts of defenses, which makes him a very reliable option for his quarterbacks.

As Lemon makes the transition to the NFL level, his understanding of the game is something that could help him to replicate his success at the professional level.

Schematic Versatility

When talking about Lemon, one of the most interesting things is how versatile his skill set can be simply as a receiver. Throughout his time with USC, Lemon was primarily used as a slot receiver, but he was used a lot differently than most players at that position.

Coach Riley used Lemon at all three levels of the route tree. This included getting the ball in his hands on quick passes underneath, in addition to stretching the defense over the top and over the middle of the field.

Lemon also possesses a unique physicality that very few receivers in a slot have, which can help him translate very well to almost any NFL role. With the Trojans, Lemon was able to get lots of contested catch opportunities, and more often than not, he was able to take advantage of them.

When NFL teams are evaluating what receivers they would like to add to their roster, finding one that can succeed in a variety of roles consistently is exactly the type of player they are looking for.

Lemon can provide that consistency and flexibility, which suggests that in the 2026 NFL Draft, he could be one of the very few prospects that NFL teams cannot afford to pass up on.

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This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/usc as Three Things To Know About USC Receiver Makai Lemon .

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This story was originally published April 23, 2026 at 3:30 PM.