Lengthy Absence Has Highlighted Just How Much The Eagles Need Makai Lemon

The Philadelphia backups produced a forgettable 24-7 loss in the preseason opener, managing just six first downs and 159 total yards while going 0-for-9 on third down with seven three-and-outs.

Jul 30, 2026; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver Makai Lemon (9) looks on during training camp at Jefferson Health Training Complex. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Eagles’ preseason opener against the Baltimore Ravens offered an early, if limited, look at the rebuilt offense under new coordinator Sean Mannion. 

The Philadelphia backups produced a forgettable 24-7 loss, managing just six first downs and 159 total yards while going 0-for-9 on third down with seven three-and-outs.

Before fourth-team rookie quarterback Cole Payton and his off-schedule abilities arrived late in the contest, that total yardage number was a miniscule 80.

Use as much context you like but you can rest assured it was not the debut Mannion dreamed about since he was 7 and following around his coaching father with a yellow legal pad to sketch out his own plays.

Of the NFL’s 32 teams, the Eagles has the most uninspired offense of the bunch to begin the preseason despite most of the other teams also only dipping into the vanilla portion of the playbook. 

One key piece was missing entirely was first-round wide receiver Makai Lemon, sidelined by a hamstring issue that has already cost him significant practice time. The issues will only be highlighted this week when the Eagles reunite with superstar receiver A.J. Brown during joint practices.

Lemon, selected 20th overall out of USC after the Eagles traded up, was never expected to be an afterthought. The Eagles moved capital to land the Biletnikoff Award winner who posted 79 catches for 1,156 yards and 11 touchdowns in his final college season at USC. 

With Brown traded to the Pats, the plan has been for the 5-foot-11, 192-pound slot specialist to step into a major role opposite DeVonta Smith by bringing short-area quickness, contested-catch reliability, and the ability to create yards after the catch. 

Pre-snap motion and slot work figure prominently in Shanahan/McVay-style offenses.  

Missing the Ravens game—and the preceding seven practices—meant those expectations stayed theoretical while other receivers logged the reps Lemon would have gotten.

The Eagles are clearly being cautions with Lemon, who was ramping up by sprinting on a separate field Monday and even jumped into practice-ending catching circuits. He’s also been on the Jugs machine for several days. 

The same cautious approach holds true for Smith, who missed seven practices with his own hamstring before returning in a limited fashion on Monday.

Smith had been pushing to get back, according to a team source, and the Eagles are not concerned with the missed reps for one of the team’s most polished players.

Conversely, the organization knows Lemon needs all the work he can get as a rookie to both develop chemistry with quarterback Jalen Hurts and learn Mannion’s scheme.

The calendar keeps turning, though.

Perhaps Lemon returns in a limited fashion for the joint sessions against New England.  The next preseason opportunity arrives quickly against the Pats on Saturday, and the regular season follows soon after. 

Every missed snap delays the timing and trust that first-year receivers need to earn consistent targets in a relatively low-volume passing attack.

Shaky Depth

WR Darius Cooper gets some extra work in after practive on Aug. 5, 2026. | John McMullen/Eagles On SI

The broader picture, though, is what sharpens the urgency to get Lemon up to speed as quickly as possible.

The Eagles’ offense without its projected starting WRs looked impotent against Baltimore’s reserves. 

Depth pieces like Darius Cooper saw a heavy workload  and produced modest results. The offensive unit as a whole failed to sustain drives or generate explosive plays. 

Lemon’s college skill set, if translated, is precisely the kind of element that can unlock the movement and spacing Mannion’s system aims to emphasize. 

How quickly the Eagles can get there is paramount. There is a big dip between WR1 (Smith) and WR2 (Dontayvion Wicks), but the slide from Lemon and/or Wicks to WR4 is even greater.

The Eagles need Lemon healthy, sharp, and productive sooner rather than later. The alternatives are simply not good enough.