Philadelphia Eagles first-round pick Makai Lemon returned to practice as a full participant on Sunday, catching his first pass from quarterback Jalen Hurts and giving the Eagles the best injury update they could have hoped for heading into the final stretch of the preseason. Lemon had missed the last three weeks with a hamstring injury that sidelined him for nearly the entirety of training camp.

Lemon has been so out of it during the preseason and training camp that it was starting to feel genuinely discouraging. You invest a first-round pick in a guy, you want him on the field, and he just kept getting set back. Other receivers have stepped up in his absence, with Dontayvion Wicks and Darius Cooper filling the void, but neither of them is the player Philadelphia drafted to be a dynamic piece of this offense.

Lemon looked like himself again

Lemon was out there running drills, working on the jugs machine, and getting integrated back into the offense alongside wide receiver DeVonta Smith, who also returned as a full participant. There’s obviously no concern about Smith, but seeing Lemon next to him running routes was a welcome sight.

The highlight of the day? Lemon caught a screen pass from Hurts and picked up yards after the catch. That’s exactly how I expect the Eagles to utilize him this season. He’s a speedy, undersized receiver who can work over the middle and create explosive plays with the ball in his hands.

Lemon confirmed after practice that the hamstring injury was on the same leg he hurt during the spring, which makes the fact that he looked this good even more encouraging. He said the rehab work he put in while sidelined made him feel like he wasn’t far behind when he got back on the field. And based on what we saw, that checks out. He looked physical, he looked fast, and he looked like the player the Eagles thought they were getting on draft night.

The Week 1 availability is still a question

Now, I don’t want to get too far ahead of things here. For the last three to four weeks, I thought there was no chance Lemon would be ready for Week 1. After seeing him run routes, seeing the way he moved physically, and seeing him get reps in the offense, I feel a whole heck of a lot better about his chances. But the question remains: will he have enough work under his belt to be a contributor when the regular season opens?

The hamstring being on the same leg he injured in the spring could linger as a concern throughout the early part of the season. But this is a step in the right direction, and it’s the best update the Eagles could have received about their first-round pick.