Makai Lemon, WR USC

Height: 5-11

Weight: 192

Hands: 8 3/8″

Arms: 30 1/8″

40 yard dash (projected): 4.56 (pro day adjusted)

2026 Age: 22

Breakout Age: 20 (SO)

NFL Comparison: Amon-Ra St. Brown, Golden Tate 

Alex’s Scouting Notes 

• Sturdy dynamo of a slot receiver and target hog with electric shakes to both uncover as a route runner and open-field tackle avoider with the ball in his hands 
• Terrific hands and stronger than you would envision at the catch-point; only 4 total drops on 183 targets over three USC seasons – an absurd 2.4% career drop rate for such a high-level target earner (108 targets in 2025 was 14th in all of CFB)
• Framing, adjustments in flight and overall ball skills are absurd 
• 2025 Biletnikoff Award winner for nation’s best WR 
• PFF’s highest graded WR for the 2025 season 
• Went for over 150 yards receiving in one-third of 2025 contests
• Elite 3.13 yards/route run was 8th best in CFB for the 2025 season
• Ranked 9th in all of CFB during 2025 in forced missed tackles (21)
• 2.75 yards per team passing attempt in 2025 is second-best in the 2026 rookie WR class
• While clearly adept at breaking tackles, does not bring quite as much as you would like in overall elusiveness after-catch; has middling YAC numbers (6.4) on the whole despite this high-level elusiveness trait 
• Can win at all three levels, but does not appear to be a burner you can consistently blow the lid off the defense with despite clearly requisite speed to operate at an all-around elite college level
• Frame and body type clearly point toward a slot-heavy role at the NFL level which could limit route participation to some degree, however, he’ll probably be enough of a contributor to where he’ll stay in for 12-personnel sets a la Amon-Ra St. Brown 
• Former DB who understands inside vs. outside coverage, cushion and drop depth, hip orientation, flat defender expansion timing and defensive help positioning – savvy 
• Comp: Amon-Ra St. Brown

Fantasy Outlook

A Biletnikoff-award winner and well-known asset in dynasty circles, he will be one of the top picks in every rookie draft regardless of format. Given his all-around pro-ready game and high-level efficiency as a prospect, he’s worthy of consideration as 2026’s WR1 among rookies and could settle in an early-mid-round pick in season-long and best-ball formats.