The Eagles beat the heat and the Tennessee Titans on Sunday. Despite scorching conditions down on the field, Philadelphia escaped Nashville on the back of a heroic Jalen Hurts drive. The rookie contribution on Sunday was small, but here’s what we noticed from the Eagles’ 2026 NFL Draft class.
Makai Lemon: C-
It’s getting kind of funny now. In Week 1, Makai Lemon’s peculiar usage landed him with negative five yards receiving. The screens and shuffle passes were not working for the young man. In the Tennessee game,
the Eagles decided to get him on another shuffle pass that lost five yards… Luckily for his box score, it was counted as a rushing attempt.
Lemon got his first quality target in this game, however, and converted on a really nice 14-yard catch. He broke nicely on a route, Jalen Hurts hit him right in the middle of the field and he caught the pass with bodies around. Those are the kinds of plays the Eagles need from Lemon, especially out of the slot.
As the season goes on, I expect Lemon’s usage increases as a middle of the field target as Hurts targets that area of the field more and more. While the Titans game wasn’t a stats bonanza, we got a glimmer of hope from Lemon in this one.
Extra credit: Makai Lemon HOOFED it down the field to help tackle Amani Hooker and prevent a pick six. Nice play, rook.
Other thoughts on the rookies:
- Cam Jurgens looked really rough in this game at guard. If the Eagles want to keep Drew Kendall at center, where he played well, Philly might consider benching Jurgens at some point later this season if his bad play persists. Such a move could help Micah Morris up the depth chart behind Willie Lampkin.
- The Dallas Goedert injury sucks. Even with the Zach Ertz signing, the Eagles tight end situation looks really rough. Eli Stowers needs to contribute at some point this season, even a little bit. He can’t return to the active roster until Week 5 at the earliest.
