Makai Lemon has been settling down well for the Philadelphia Eagles. He was selected by the franchise with the No. 20 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft. He played for the USC Trojans in his college career, where he had a good 2025 season and won the 2025 Fred Biletnikoff Award.
The wide receiver will now begin his new career in the NFL for the franchise in the next season. He has revealed that one teammate has helped him a lot.
Makai Lemon credits DeVonta Smith as his mentor at Eagles
Lemon had an amazing career with the Trojans and the Eagles surprised everyone, including the player himself, by drafting him as they moved up one place in the Draft for him. He has now already settled down with the Eagles, participating in their OTAs and mandatory minicamp with his new teammates. He has earned much admiration already. Among his new colleagues, he has credited one person for helping him the most.
Apr 23, 2026; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Southern California Trojans receiver Makai Lemon is selected by the Philadelphia Eagles as the number 20 pick during the 2026 NFL Draft at Acrisure Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
The rookie recently attended a youth football camp where he interacted with his fans. One of them asked him who was the player’s biggest mentor since his arrival at the franchise. Lemon replied that veteran wide receiver DeVonta Smith was his mentor and praised him. He said, “My biggest mentor, I’d probably say, Smitty (Smith’s nickname). Just the way he works, the way he carries himself, just being a leader.”
Smith is a mature leader within the team, and is the No. 1 wide receiver after the departure of A. J. Brown. He has much experience and has already transformed into one of the most technical route runners in the NFL. It makes sense for him to train Lemon to be his wide receiver partner, with both of them having very similar traits.
While Lemon prepares for the upcoming season, his first in the NFL, he will have Smith to learn from. And it is clear that the rookie already admires the veteran.
Makai Lemon praises DeVonta Smith
Previously, Lemon praised Smith after joining the franchise. He talked about the veteran in detail and described his meeting with him. He said, “I wasn’t trying to pick his brain too much. He said I’m going to love it. You came to a great organization, a great team, a brotherhood. So I’m super excited to get around the guys and it was definitely great meeting him and chopping it up with him.”
He later added, “When you step on that field, you already know that he got that dawg mentality. So I think me and him are going to click.” and “Once you have a guy like that on your team, lined up next to you, I feel like that’s only going to make you better. I feel like we can help each other in any way.”
Makai Lemon is preparing for his first season in the NFL, and will look up to DeVonta Smith to help him with.
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