If the Los Angeles Rams use their first pick on a wide receiver, who would they be better off with: USC’s Makai Lemon or Arizona State’s Jordyn Tyson?
Makai Lemon
In a way, Lemon could be the next Jaxon Smith-Njigba, a wide receiver who plays much bigger than his actual height and brings an elite element to the slot position while also being able to move outside to X or Z.
Starting with Makai Lemon, the dynamic WR from USC is listed at 5-foot-11, but he does not play like it. Instead, Lemon somehow
acts like a 6-foot-4 WR in contested catch situations and makes the tough catches look easy. It does show up when Lemon cannot reach for some passes, which is an issue at times.
In the slot, Lemon is nearly unguardable. Somehow, he is always open, and once he has the ball in his hands, good luck to defenders. Lemon’s not the fastest, but for his role in an offense, that’s completely fine.
Lemon is PFF’s top-ranked receiver:
Lemon had 79 catches for 1,156 yards and 11 touchdowns for USC last season. An All-American for a west coast team that most people have forgotten about as they’ve continued to slip out of national relevance under Lincoln Riley.
Lemon is decidedly not like Puka Nacua or Davante Adams, making him a fascinating complement for Matthew Stafford if he stays in L.A..
Jordyn Tyson
Then there’s the guy who might be an ideal replacement for Adams rather than a complement to him. Tyson’s size and athletic ability could help him go from start to finish as the top-ranked receiver in the class given where it looked like he was headed six month ago.
Yahoo:
Last, but most definitely not least, Jordyn Tyson is the third option for the Saints at 8. Coming into the CFB season, Tyson was viewed as the top WR in the draft, and he never really moved away from that idea. He makes spectacular catches with ease, is a great route runner, excellent in contested situations, and has an ideal height of 6-foot-2. It’s hard to argue that another WR is better than Tyson in the 2026 NFL draft class, but the issue is injuries.
Tyson has 1,101 yards in 2024 but injuries cost him a few games in 2025.
Can you imagine Tyson’s impact with the Rams for as long as he’s paired with Stafford and Puka?
Could give Rams an incredible 2-3 year run, if Stafford sticks that long.
Carnell Tate
Or should the Rams draft Tate out of Ohio State? The 6’3 Tate is Dane Brugler’s top-ranked receiver and ranked 10th overall, so will he even make it to pick 13?
Assuming Tate goes in the top-10, L.A.’s option could be down to Lemon or Tyson. Or both of them might be off of the board too.
Or the Rams don’t want to draft a receiver at all, which is surely what many of you are thinking at a time when cornerback is under such fire as a “need”.
“Needs”, huh? And when exactly in Les Snead’s history has his first pick been on a need? How often has he instead traded picks or used his first round pick on a wide receiver?
Given that Davante Adams is almost finished with his career, a draft pick on a receiver looks very realistic.
It’s a position that gets drafted early and L.A. may not get another chance soon to get a player like Lemon or Tyson for the offense. Or Tate. Maybe it happens or maybe it doesn’t, but it’s on the table.
If it comes down to only Lemon or Tyson then…
