One concerning Makai Lemon trend is quietly becoming a bigger Eagles training camp storyline
Rookie receiver’s hamstring raises real concern as Eagles offensive weapon has missed four straight practices.
Makai Lemon has a lot to prove, and right now he can’t even get on the field to do it. The Philadelphia Eagles first-round pick, drafted to replace A.J. Brown, missed his fourth consecutive training camp practice with a hamstring injury. For a rookie wide receiver carrying the weight of replacing one of the most polarizing figures of the offseason, the timing could not be worse.
Look, you can brush off one missed practice. You can chalk up a couple of days to precaution. But when you start digging into Lemon’s injury history, a pattern starts to emerge that is tough to ignore.
A troubling trend
Jesse Morse put this out on Twitter: Do you sense the trend for Makai Lemon?
Let’s go through it. In Sept. 2024, Lemon suffered a concussion. Then in March 2025, he dealt with a hamstring injury. A few months ago in May, another hamstring injury early in OTAs. And now here in early August, the same hamstring issue is keeping him off the field again. That’s three hamstring injuries in roughly 17 months. I’m not a doctor, but that is not a pattern you want to see from a 22-year-old who hasn’t even played a regular season snap yet.
I’m hoping this is not a recurring thing. I hope Lemon can get healthy and be ready for Week 1. But the most important thing for any rookie is getting reps. You’re coming into a new organization, a new level of football you haven’t experienced yet, with a mountain of expectation and pressure on your shoulders. You’re trying to get used to the ins and outs of being an NFL player. You’re trying to establish some consistency, build rhythm with your quarterback and your new teammates. And it just doesn’t feel like Lemon has really been out there yet because he hasn’t been able to.
The Eagles aren’t saying much about it. There were some whispers that the injury is not serious, but the more we see this same issue pop up, the more concerning it gets.
The Cooper DeJean comparison only goes so far
Eagles general manager Howie Roseman was asked about how Lemon can deal with this setback, and he pointed to All-Pro cornerback Cooper DeJean, who missed the first four weeks of the 2024 regular season before coming back and putting together one of the best rookie campaigns we’ve seen from a defensive player in Philadelphia. The proof of concept is there. It is doable.
But I would argue this is a completely different situation. Nobody looked at DeJean heading into 2024 and said, “We need you to be one of the best defensive players on this team as a rookie coming off an injury.” The expectations were measured. He was allowed to ease back in, and the defense around him was already stacked.
With Lemon, the Eagles kind of need him to step up immediately. A.J. Brown is gone. The pressure on this kid is real, whether that’s fair or not. Philadelphia drafted him in the first round specifically to fill that void, and the fan base is expecting instant results. Every situation is different, and Lemon may not be able to replicate what DeJean did on the other side of the ball.
The bigger picture
The good news is that it sounds like some other guys in the receiver room are stepping up right now. But if the Eagles can get the production they’re hoping for out of Lemon once he’s healthy, this offense is going to be a whole heck of a lot better. He has the talent. He has the draft pedigree. The question is whether his body will let him put it all together.
The hamstring trend is the thing to watch, and until Lemon strings together a full week of practice, it is fair to wonder whether this becomes a lingering issue that limits him early in his career. We’ll see what happens, but right now, Week 1 is approaching fast and Lemon needs to be on the field.
