Eagles mailbag: Is Makai Lemon's slow start to camp cause for concern?

It's probably a little early to worry about Makai Lemon's slow start to training camp, right?

By Jimmy Kempski
PhillyVoice Staff

Colleen Claggett/for PhillyVoice

Makai Lemon #9 of the Philadelphia Eagles makes a catch during training camp at the Jefferson Health Training Complex on July 29, 2026 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

We're still only three practices into 2026 Philadelphia Eagles training camp, but there's actually stuff to talk about now, so let's do a mailbag or two, shall we? Thanks as always for doing half the work for me.

Question from @WalkWithLyle: Should I be concerned that Makai Lemon has been very quiet and not shown much? He needs to be a real second option. I hope he’s good and not a lemon. Get it 😃

I think I'm rooting for him just so I don't have to endlessly hear versions of that joke, ha.

Lemon hasn't done much so far, but as noted in the first paragraph, we're only three days into camp. Would it be a lot cooler if he was lighting it up? Sure! But it's pretty normal for rookie receivers to take a little time to get their sea legs in camp.

In DeVonta Smith's first training camp, he sprained his MCL in the fourth practice, and then missed the next eight practices. Before the injury, he had probably shown a little more than Lemon has so far, but he too was mostly quiet.

Lemon has talent. He'll make some plays. If after the first 10 or so practices he's still just not making catches then it would be a much more reasonable cause for concern.

Question from @hamiltwan (vis Bluesky): Does the new Mannion system make potential missed games by Lane Johnson, Landon Dickerson, Cam Jurgens, etc. more impactful or less? Does focus on scheme rather than just out-talenting the opponent mean a less talented player can get by, or will being less in sync hurt more?

Lane Johnson and Jordan Mailata have said that it's easier to play in the new scheme because they'll get help to the inside now. And really, that's the norm throughout the NFL. It's remarkable that Johnson and Mailata have been two of the best linemen in the NFL despite being asking to block elite edge rushers on an island all day.

Whenever Johnson or Mailata have gone down, the Eagles have adjusted the way they play. As in, they have given Fred Johnson help. If Johnson or Mailata go down in the new scheme, they may not have to change up what they do as much. 

Dickerson mentioned on Saturday that he thinks it's an easier scheme because part of the design is to get up to the line of scrimmage quickly and run the play. 

So yes, I do think that weathering O-line injuries could be a little easier in the new scheme.

Question from @wgordon711 (via Bluesky): Who's most likely to win the Devin White award? (Presumed starter through camp but isn't the starter Week 1)

Jonathan Greenard is going to miss a significant part of camp. He's a veteran, and as such doesn't need as much time in camp as a rookie might. However, Vic Fangio noted that Greenard doesn't have much experience dropping into coverage, so he does need camp reps.

Maybe it's him?

Question from @Jay_Tillman: With all the bodies at tight end and the general reports coming out of camp, what are the chances Eli Stowers red shirts this year with a hangnail?

Zero percent chance of that. If he went on IR he wouldn't be able to practice with the team. They're not going that route with a second-round pick, especially one who needs a lot of work as a blocker. (Here is where I'll note again that we're only three practices deep.)

Question from @choubacha (via Bluesky): Are training camp stats worth debating?

There are times after practice where I'm curious about completions and attempts, but I can usually guess pretty close to what they'll be. Certainly, you don't want a lot of footballs hitting the ground when there's no pass rush at all in 7-on-7's and no threat of the quarterback getting decked, at all. So, there's some small value.

I did see that there was some complaining on WIP after the first two practices that Jalen Hurts hadn't yet thrown a TD. And then the after-effect is that Twitter accounts will go engagement farming with those stats:

Jalen Hurts has yet to throw a TD through three days of Eagles training camp

39/56 Passing
0 TDs
0 INThttps://t.co/cBRcvLPsH5 pic.twitter.com/9wTvkrTqgn

— Underdog (@Underdog) August 1, 2026

Lol. To begin, they're not conducting drives. They're doing situational work. For example, if they're running plays from their own 40 and Hurts hits DeVonta Smith for a 35-yard toe-tap connection down the sideline, they don't then go to the 25 yard line to try to finish the drive. The ball comes right back to the 40 and they run another play.

Similarly, if the Eagles are doing red zone work all day and Hurts throws for 5 TDs those stats are just as useless.

What I think is much more interesting this year is percentage of plays that the team is under center, percentage of plays where there's pre-snap motion, play action, and stuff like that, which will be relevant to what the offense will look like in the new scheme. We're tracking that, for the record, and we'll release all that data later (probably at the end of camp).

Question from @Michael93826345: How possible do you think it is to extend Quinyon Mitchell, Cooper DeJean, and Jalyx Hunt?

I'll be surprised if they don't get all three of those extensions done next offseason. But there's no worry here that they won't be able to afford to re-sign all three. 

Question from @Gabesz888: Knowing what you know today, would you trade Hunt for a first-round pick?

If it were to a team like the Cardinals or something, who are gonna have a top 10 pick or better, yeah. To some contender? Nope.

Question from @perfecthatgames: How about a prediction for last place teams in each division?

• NFCE: Commanders
• NFCN: Vikings
• NFCS: Panthers
• NFCW: Cardinals
• AFCE: Jets
• AFCN: Browns
• AFCS: Colts
• AFCW: Raiders

Question from @killakow: How do you balance having meaningful takeaways from training camp with such clear caveats (e.g. not seeing every practice, no pads, more limited understanding of the goals of each drill/practice, etc.)? And how has that evolved in your time on the beat?

Yeah, good question. To begin, we don't get to see every practice during the spring, but we do get to see every training camp practice during the summer, walk-throughs aside (they're not really even practices). After the Eagles-Pats preseason game this year, we'll be cut off from the good parts of practice at that point.

The longer you do the job, the more seasoned you become at what matters, what drills are slanted in favor of the offense or defense, the difference between pads and no pads, etc.

We know what the goals of each practice are, to a basic extent. We can see if they're running tempo, or third and long situations, end of half situations, etc. The common fan watching practice on a one-day trip to the practice field (mostly) won't pick up on that stuff, but it becomes obvious when you're there every day. What we can't know is... I dunno... like if the coaching staff wants to see a player improve his technique in some certain way, and maybe that player's concentration on improving that technique hurts his overall play that day.

But I do think for the most part it's not rocket science to see whether a guy is playing well or not.

Last year, the guy who crushed it in camp and really looked poised to make a leap was Moro Ojomo, and sure enough, he did.

This year, Jalyx Hunt has had a great start to camp, and I've been asked if that really even matters since he's an edge defender and they haven't had the pads on yet. In my view, yes. He looks fast and twitchy, and has been beating linemen with speed. That's a legitimate takeaway, and the way he is playing is better than anything we have seen from him in past camps. When the pads come on, we'll see what he looks like in run defense, or setting the edge. Those are things that you can't really see at the moment, although in Jalyx's case we do have two years of real games to look at.

Conversely, last year, a guy like Smael Mondon was having a really good camp as a rookie, flying around all over the field, thudding backs, and showing something in coverage. But there's no tackling, and in the first preseason game, he missed like four or five tackles. And then we look like idiots for having praised him for a couple weeks lol. 

Certainly, you don't get the full picture of these guys while watching training camp practices, but there are clues. I think a lot of the Eagles' beats do a good job of contextualizing what is happening during practices, and even if you've been doing it for a long time you continue to learn from things you get right and wrong.

https://www.phillyvoice.com/eagles-mailbag-is-makai-lemon-slow-start-training-camp-concern/

With Lemon I’m not sure his skillset and game is necessarily suited to practice? He’s a quick and agile WR who runs with power once he’s got the ball. So I’m not sure he’s going to flash too much in practice when there’s no pads on and plays don’t really develop?

That said of course we’d like to see him flash a bit more. He’s our first round pick and he’s going to be an important piece of whether this offense is good this year or not.

6 hours ago, UK_EaglesFan89 said:

With Lemon I’m not sure his skillset and game is necessarily suited to practice? He’s a quick and agile WR who runs with power once he’s got the ball. So I’m not sure he’s going to flash too much in practice when there’s no pads on and plays don’t really develop?

That said of course we’d like to see him flash a bit more. He’s our first round pick and he’s going to be an important piece of whether this offense is good this year or not.

For me the biggest concern is over not being able to participate in practice. He obviously has a new offense to learn (they all do but he is coming from college so it is an added challenge for him). And he's also missing on an opportunity to build chemistry with Hurts (like Wicks has been). But so long as he isn't constantly dealing with a hammy and other types of injuries then all good ... just delays hitting the ground running at the start of the season as he'll likely be a bit behind. .

Geez, he's a first round draft pick who is hurt. He's going to have all the time in the world to get reps and build chemistry with Hurts. The eagles are very good at making sure guys are healed up before they have to push in practice and in games.

No, there's no "cause for concern". Typical Philly media overreaction.

On 8/7/2026 at 1:56 PM, time2rock said:

For me the biggest concern is over not being able to participate in practice. He obviously has a new offense to learn (they all do but he is coming from college so it is an added challenge for him). And he's also missing on an opportunity to build chemistry with Hurts (like Wicks has been). But so long as he isn't constantly dealing with a hammy and other types of injuries then all good ... just delays hitting the ground running at the start of the season as he'll likely be a bit behind. .

Yeah I mean that’s definitely a concern bud. You’d like your rookies to be out there getting reps and building chemistry with the QB. That he’s missed so many practices is definitely a concern. Like you say let’s hope this isn’t a sign of things to come.

Immature. Had all senior year to get ready for the draft (first round no less) and camp yet is already hurt. He is a professional athlete now so needs to man up. Hire a trainer and take it seriously.

14 hours ago, Miami said:

Immature. Had all senior year to get ready for the draft (first round no less) and camp yet is already hurt. He is a professional athlete now so needs to man up. Hire a trainer and take it seriously.

I agree. I've had hamstrings issues since my mid 20s when i tried playing soccer again, out of shape, and tore them both twice doing that softball and water skiing, after a division 1 soccer career. At 21-22 when he knows he is a high nfl draft prospect he should have shown up for his senior season in excellent shape and maintained it thru the draft process. He obviously did not. Now he needs to sit until it's healed and that could take months longer. He's already had issues for 3 months, I believe with both hamstrings. You can't push off with a bad one and he uses quick cuts to get open in the slot. The team needs to wait until he's ready and that may not be at the start of the season, 4 weeks from this sunday. It may take longer. It wouldn't surprise me if they put him on recallable IR. That might be the prudent move so he doesn't permanently hurt himself like I did. I ran like the wind when I was young. I was the fastest player on the SU soccer team. I haven't run in 40 years because of my wrecked hammies. Eagles need to have patience and not succumb to outside pressures to play him before he is healed

If you're scared, get a dog. Too much hand wringing. If it wasn't this it the "glass half full" crowd would conjure up[ another worry.

1st week of the regular season starts three weeks from tomorrow. Lemon's hamstring will not be ready. I asked AI about his past hamstring injuries and he had a strain in March of 2025, so this is three strains within 17 months. And the 3rd strain was only 2 months after the second. AI projects he is at high risk for another injury through the first 2 months of the season. Having lived with this problem for 40 years I know first hand that multiple hamstring strains and tears in a short time can result in permanent damage. The day after final cuts we should place him on recallable IR and hopefully the end of October beginning of November he will be mostly healed and ready to play

He's a rookie. Few rookies come right in and are great, especially if they have nagging injuries. I'm not concerned right now. There are a couple guys who can fill the WR2 role.

On 8/17/2026 at 3:01 PM, PoconoDon said:

He's a rookie. Few rookies come right in and are great, especially if they have nagging injuries. I'm not concerned right now. There are a couple guys who can fill the WR2 role.

Hi Don, I agree completely. We have other capable WRs that can fill in. My concern is the front office will pressure the player and the team Dr to get him back on the field. It seems many executives don't understand a hamstring injury. It has nothing to do with pain tolerance. The leg doesn't work and if you try to quickly push off and turn with a bad hammy you can very easily tear it. Lemon almost definitely has atleast small tears if he's hurt the same one twice. If he hurts it a 3rd time in 4-5 months, it's a tear for sure and maybe a big one. The team has to err on the side of caution. 27-35 years ago when I lived outside of Baltimore I was seen by a Raven's team Dr and he had no clue about my hamstrings. I've found the most help I gotten is from massage therapists and the occasional excellent physical therapists. No one could help me much for 13-14 years until I moved to Maui and my physical therapist neighbor, in the first 5 seconds of my first treatment with her, took her knuckles and when from the bottom of my hamstring up deep into the tissue. When she hit my tears in the middle there was loud crackling sound from all those years of tightness. Only time working on them that there was ever a noise. I walked out of the office that day better than at any time prior. After two injuries in 2 months I hope the team exercises extreme caution and put Lemon on recallable IR and hold him out until he is healed. He won't be ready to aggressively push off and turn for a while. He needs an excellent massage therapist. My two the last 15 years both were 4 Seasons trained. They are the best

One final comment. It the hamstring comes off the bone up high at the attachment a Dr can perform surgery and fix it. If it's a tear in the middle of the hamstring medical science can't do crap about it. There is no medical procedure to fix a tissue tear in the middle of the hamstring. You have to hope it heals. They need to wait until Lemon is healthy to play him.

21 hours ago, weko said:

One final comment. It the hamstring comes off the bone up high at the attachment a Dr can perform surgery and fix it. If it's a tear in the middle of the hamstring medical science can't do crap about it. There is no medical procedure to fix a tissue tear in the middle of the hamstring. You have to hope it heals. They need to wait until Lemon is healthy to play him.

I think that's the key right there. When he's truly 100%, then work him into playing.

Same thing happened with Odell Beckham his rookie year.