Makai Lemons combine podium didnt bother NFL

Makai Lemon received another probability Thursday to show his expertise for NFL scouts.

About 50 of them — representatives from each of the 32 groups — gathered at USC to spend a few hours evaluating the varsity’s latest class of draft prospects. Lemon, who received the Biletnikoff Award last fall as school soccer’s top receiver, had everybody’s consideration.

“Running good routes, catching the ball, running fast,” he said of his goals for the day. “Whatever I showcase, let them know I can do it at a high level.”

It was a more snug setting than Indianapolis. At the scouting combine, Lemon’s efficiency at the podium drew scrutiny — not for something he said, but for how he said it. He swayed. He was measured, unhurried, visibly unbothered. Some read it as indifferent. Others noticed one thing else completely.

“We don’t want a guy who’s phony and coached up,” said one staff government, talking on condition of anonymity. “We want a guy to be his authentic self. As long as he’s not a jerk, we love it.”

Rams normal supervisor Les Snead, who attended Thursday’s workout of 17 USC gamers, put it another means. “At the combine you’re usually getting some version of a personality,” he said. “A lot of times it’s, ‘This is my interview personality,’ and that’s not necessarily who they are 365 days a year.”

The other USC prospects who participated in Thursday’s exercises have been receivers Ja’Kobi Lane, Jaden Richardson and Jay Fair; operating back Eli Sanders; tight end Lake McRee; offensive linemen J’Onre Reed and DJ Wingfield; defensive linemen Anthony Lucas and Keeshawn Silver; linebacker Eric Gentry; cornerbacks DJ Harvey and DeCarlos Nicholson; safeties Bishop Fitzgerald and Kamari Ramsey; punter Sam Johnson; and long snapper Hank Pepper.

Former Trojan linebacker Mason Cobb, who was on the staff in 2024, also participated.

Lemon’s credentials should not in dispute. He completed last season with 79 catches for 1,156 yards and 11 touchdowns. At 5-foot-11 and 192 kilos he’s not big for the place, and according to a faculty release ran the 40 in 4.46 seconds, which is fast but not blistering. But those aren’t his main strengths.

“One of the underrated aspects when you’re watching wide receivers is toughness, and he kind of oozes toughness,” said Daniel Jeremiah, lead draft analyst for NFL Network. “He catches everything. He’s super strong physically and super strong to the ball.”

The technical element that stands out for Jeremiah: Lemon doesn’t depart his ft to catch unless he has to. He stays grounded, retains himself in place to do one thing after the ball arrives. Receivers who lunge and cradle in the air have nowhere to go. Receivers who catch with their ft under them flip completions into more yards.

“He’s got a really good feel for the game,” Jeremiah said. “I think he’s going to be a high-volume guy. I think he’ll catch 90-plus balls every year and be the quarterback’s best friend.”

Snead, who has a historical past of discovering productive receivers that others miss — among them Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua — is skeptical of the 40 as a measuring stick.

“You rarely see a route in football where the receiver runs straight for 40 yards and then makes his break,” he said. “Even on a go route you’re usually trying to get an edge on the defender, so you’re not running straight. The 40 might tell you how many gears you have in your body. But sometimes you need to run a route in third gear and then shift into fourth or fifth, or decelerate.”

Jeremiah ranks Lemon among the 2 best receivers in this draft, giving a slight edge to Ohio State’s Carnell Tate, who tasks as more of a down-the-field, big-play menace. Comparisons to Detroit’s Amon-Ra St. Brown (also a former USC participant) and Tampa Bay’s Emeka Egbuka have circulated. Jeremiah sees those, but also reaches back to Jarvis Landry, the previous Louisiana State standout who made 5 Pro Bowl appearances.

“I actually think Lemon is a better player than Jarvis Landry coming out,” Jeremiah said. “When you’re instinctive, you’re tough and you catch everything, that’s a pretty high floor. Absolute worst case, you’re going to have a steady, dependable, reliable player.”

Watching from the sideline Thursday was Marqise Lee, who received the Biletnikoff in 2012 — the only other USC participant to do so — and was a second-round decide of the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2014. He has spent a lot of the past a number of months as a mentor to Lemon, and when the combine criticism arrived Lee wasn’t stunned by any of it.

“My biggest thing to him was just enjoy it,” Lee said. “I know he got a lot of backlash about the media stuff and things like that, but when you know the guy, he’s not a big talker. He’s calm, he’s all about business.”

Lee believes Lemon has the talents to thrive at the next stage, but is aware of how a lot context issues once a participant will get there.

“The league is different until you actually get there and get the opportunity to practice and go through it,” Lee said. “Some people have a hard time adapting. Once he gets on a team I’ll be texting him: ‘How’s the comfort level? How’s the offense?’ Because that stuff matters. Offensive coordinator, people loving you — all that matters.”

Lemon, for his half, already feels like somebody who has thought about this.

“I want to go in there and be myself,” he said. “Don’t want to try to be anybody else.”