> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://rotobahn.ghost.io/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Assessing Makai Lemon - URL: https://rotobahn.ghost.io/assessing-makai-lemon/ - Published: 2026-10-01T11:47:36.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-01T11:47:36.000Z - Author: Pete Davidson I thought it was a good time to take a look at Makai Lemon. The rookie from USC has had a somewhat odd beginning to his career. It started when he injured his hamstring back in the spring. That cost him some assimilation time with the Eagles new offense. Shortly after arriving at camp, he had a setback on the same hamstring. This cost the rookie a few more weeks and more crucial assimilation time. So the idea that Lemon might have a shaky start was a popular one, and that's precisely how it's turned out. For purposes of clarity, this is a redraft article. Nothing has happened, as of yet, that would dim Lemon's dynasty appeal. For us redraft folks, we were hoping to see a bit more signal by this time. We are now entering Week 4 and statistically, Lemon has done next to nothing. The funny thing is, the lack of fantasy points isn't really the biggest problem. It's the way it's *looked*—particularly to *Joe Public*, who tends to see cut-ups and single plays versus entire games. The plays that have dominated Lemon's social media timeline have been the short area targets that barely require a route being run. There are plenty of blogs and shows obsessed with how misused Lemon has been. So what's the truth? The truth is that Lemon the athlete has looked a bit better each week. He's also playing enough snaps to make a reasonable fantasy dent. - Week 1 - 64% (4 targets) - Week 2 - 63% (1 target) - Week 3 - 70% (4 targets) These are not problematic numbers for a rookie. In Week 3, Lemon's route percentage was up to .84 and that is nothing to sneeze at. Dontayvion Wicks, for reference, was at .81, also good. So the field time is there and the route participation is there. Is he running bad routes? Lemon is **not** running bad routes. Not by my eyes. He's not been perfect, but there is a lot to like on his film. As noted above, he's also running some odd short area routes, but they are not close to being the dominant part of his tree. If you watch every play you will see him running most of his routes downfield—mostly on the first and second levels, but the trend is that he's gaining depth by the game. His Week 3 aDOT was up to 11.5. So what gives? We've effectively eliminated the idea that he's not yet healthy or that he's not on the field enough. My assessment is that his route work is improving and shows plenty of promise. In short, **he is often open**. The issue seems to be about Jalen Hurts, and in some cases, pass protection and or his blocking breaking down. The protection thing is always going to happen to some extent. Lemon has just had some bad luck in terms of **when** protection has broken down. The blocking has been shaky when they've screened him. Again, poor luck, and perhaps this is to be expected as the Eagles are in a brand new offense, run by first time OC, Sean Mannion. Let's say the offense gets cleaner as the new OC continues to install and teach his system. That ought to give Lemon an extra successful play or two per game, but we need more additional production if he is going to be a recommendable fantasy starter. For that to happen, we need Lemon and Hurts to develop some rapport. We need Hurts to trust Lemon enough to look for him, because on film, he's missing Lemon when he's open, a lot. To be fair, this takes some time, and as El Guapo said, *you cannot force open the petals of a flower*. For a talented player to run as many quality routes as Lemon has, and to only have 9 total targets on the season, is an indication of a problem or perhaps more than one. Lemon needs the ball in order to do his thing. The Eagles have done everything to indicate they want this and intend this to happen. The last threshold to clear is the ball going his way. Once we get there, we'll start seeing the things that made Lemon a first round selection. So what do we do with him in fantasy? In my view, we continue to roster him and in leagues where he gets dropped, we stash him. If the player was not exhibiting talent, I might say otherwise. If the team did not seem intent on *making him happen*, I might say otherwise. Last week's game film is going to tell Eagles coaches a clear story. The staff will be telling that story to Hurts, and explaining to him that the way to get a few extra chunk plays and touchdowns is to involve the rookie—the best *ball-in-hand* player on the team after Saquon Barkley. Obviously nothing is guaranteed here. This may take longer than we'd like. Hurts has shown in the past that he can stick on certain targets to the exclusion of others. We can't rule that out here, especially in that it already seems to be happening on some level. We also have an offense developing in parallel with the player. So the OC, QB and rookie WR are all in uncharted waters simultaneously. Sean Mannion has gone from offensive assistant to QB coach to OC in three seasons. It's good to be a fast riser, but also challenging. In Hurts' case, it's not surprising that he's favoring the targets he knows best. but the Eagles have struggled to beat two bad teams, and just got smoked by a third string quarterback. With the schedule [about to stiffen](https://www.espn.com/nfl/team/schedule/%5F/name/phi?ref=rotobahn.ghost.io), they need to raise their game. Lemon is not only an avenue to that improvement, he's the avenue they've already committed to, to the tune of the 20th overall selection in this year's draft. The most likely outcome here, is that Makai Lemon starts giving us usable stats at some point this season. For our purposes, when that happens is crucial. If it's within the next few weeks, he can be a big asset for us. If it's the last few weeks, we probably lost our gambit. This is a risk I am not just willing to take. It's a risk I am **looking** to take. On film, Lemon has the look of a bomb that just hasn't gone off yet, and I don't think he's a dud. I suggest you act accordingly.