NY Giants 2026 NFL Draft scouting report: Makai Lemon, WR, USC

He has a varied set of releases, allowing him to efficiently get into his routes against different coverage types. Lemon is as much an artist as a technician as a route runner, consistently manipulating his route stems to expand receiving windows, set up defenders for YAC opportunities, or position himself to box out defenders when a contested catch is unavoidable.

Lemon has very good contact balance as a runner and is able to play through contact in multiple phases of the play. He also has good play strength to fight at the catch point or sustain his blocks when asked to do so.

Finally, Lemon is a tough, fiery competitor. He plays hard without the ball in his hands, running routes at full speed to create space for his teammates or provide misdirection for running plays, and he doesn’t hesitate to block. He strains to sustain his blocks for as long as possible and never seems to back down from bigger defenders.

Weaknesses

Worst traits

• Long speed
• Size
• Hand size
• Route running

The single greatest limitation in Lemon’s game is a pedestrian athletic profile. He has very good quickness and agility, however he has merely average explosiveness and long speed. Lemon won’t physically or athletically overwhelm defenders, and will need to win with his technique and within the structure of the offense.

The single biggest real concern is that Lemon has small hands at just 8 ⅝ inches. He was only charged with two (2) drops last year, however teams with first lower thresholds could drop him down their boards. Likewise, cold weather teams could have concerns with a player who is both physically undersized and has very small hands.

Lemon’s route running could also be a double-edged sword in the eyes of some. As mentioned above, he’s as much artist as technician as a route runner, and the occasional looseness with which he runs his routes could be a problem for teams that use highly structured route concepts with tight timing.

Game Tape

(Lemon is the USC receiver wearing number 6 with a band on his left forearm.)

Projection

Makai Lemon projects as a starting wide receiver with Pro Bowl upside at the NFL level.

Lemon has the versatility to line up as both a wide and slot receiver, and should be able to produce in just about any offense commonly called at the NFL level. Lemon isn’t a sloppy route runner by any means, however he does seem to have a slight tendency to improvise with his route running, and that might need to be toned down in certain timing or spacing-heavy offenses.

His average physical stature will be the biggest knock on him in the eyes of evaluators. He has below average size and a smaller than average catch radius, as well as much smaller than average hands. That didn’t hinder him in college, but the margins for error will be much smaller at the NFL level.

Lemon has the potential to be an Offensive Rookie Of the Year candidate, however the fact that he’s also something of a physical outlier could cause him to slide some on draft night. He’ll still be a first round pick, but where he falls in the upper echelon of receivers could vary widely on teams’ boards.

Does he fit the Giants? Potentially, depending on value and scheme.

Final Word: A first round pick