What The Eagles Are Doing Behind The Scenes To Help Develop Makai Lemon

PHILADELPHIA – There are no seating charts in the meeting rooms. Rookie receiver Makai Lemon knows his place, though. He sits between passing game coordinator Josh Grizzard and receiver coach Aaron Moorehead. Both coaches met with the Eagles’ beat writers on Tuesday.

This week is a big classroom week for the Eagles. They are practicing behind closed doors. No media. No fans. Just work and learning.

“I'm fortunate enough to sit right beside him, so I'm able to sit and talk and answer any questions that he has, and he asks a ton of great questions and talks about different positions,” said Grizzard. “He is very eager to learn not only just his spot, but then defenses, and then once you get out on the field, being able to work with him on the individual periods, and then the things that coach harps on about after practice and the details of different routes and being able to spend time with him after practice as well on the same thing we're talking about.”

Before confusing Lemon with Jalen Reagor based on one week of practice and one preseason game, they should know more about what is going on behind the scenes with the first-round draft pick.

He is working closely with Jalen Hurts this week, making up for lost time with a hamstring injury that didn't heal until the final week of camp.

During the days he spent taking mental reps, Moorehead had him in the huddle to hear how the QB calls a play.

“We wanted him being around Jalen as much as possible, because when you're not in the huddle, like especially in a walkthrough, you're standing back there and I'm saying the call,” said Moorehead. “Well, you have to hear Jalen say the call in the huddle. Jalen's the guy that you're gonna be in the huddle with in the game, and it's not gonna be this quiet.”

That’s not all. Moorehead also leaned on his veteran receiver DeVonta Smith to help Lemon.

“I've basically told him, ‘Whatever Smitty does, you do,’” he said.

Jalen Hurts, Makai Lemon Working Closely Together

The quarterback and receiver are working on timing, and Hurts is explaining what he wants from Lemon, where he needs to be on a route, and more.

“This is a great week for this,” said Moorehead. “Last week was really his first week back since he got dinged up early in camp, and it was a good timing week, and now we get this week, and we got the next week, and we gotta be ready to roll."

The whole “no separation” discussion isn’t anything new. He had a hard time doing it in college, yet he was able to make plays despite tight coverage. It’s why some think he may be better suited in the slot, where nickel corners play off the line, allowing the shifty Lemon more space to operate.

“Football means so much to this guy,” said Moorehead. “I mean, everything that he does matters to him and that's what I love about him. We liked that in the draft process about him. He's continued to show that since he's been here - he's gonna focus on the details, but he's gonna work hard at fixing the things that he does wrong.

“He’s constantly kind of not making the same mistakes over and over again. That's what you wanna see from a young player. … But it's one day at a time. I'm not trying to look forward to week 10.”

As with most prospects, patience is required. Unfortunately, patience is hardly a virtue in these days of instant gratification.

“This is the only business that you look at how guys are doing right away, and sometimes there are early judgments made," said general manager Howie Roseman. "Any other business, there's a long-term view, and we see it on our roster, how [guys] developed over two, three, four years.”

First-round picks are a different animal, though. Lemon can still be that.

“Not that you wanna compare him to other rookies, but that's not the case with all the rookies that at least I've been around, where sometimes if you're not in there, they kind of go hang out on the side,” said Grizzard. “He's been dialed in, and he's in a good spot, and I know he's ready to go out there and rock.”

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