A last-minute phone call changed Makai Lemon’s NFL Draft destination, flipping him from Pittsburgh to Philadelphia.
The USC receiver was already on the phone with the Steelers and believed they were preparing to draft him when another call kept coming through. That second call turned out to be the Eagles, who had just traded up one spot to select him with the 20th overall pick on Thursday night.
“First, I answered the phone, and it was the Steelers,” Lemon said on a post-draft Zoom call. “Then my phone kept ringing. I looked, and it was the Eagles. They traded up and said they were gonna pick me. Everything happened for a reason. It means a lot that they really wanted me. I’m all in.”
Philadelphia had moved up from No. 23 to No. 20, sending two fourth-round picks (Nos. 114 and 137) to the Cowboys in exchange for the higher selection and a future seventh-round pick.
General manager Howie Roseman said the team had trouble reaching Lemon in real time, which nearly added drama to the pick.
“When we get on the clock, we immediately try to contact the player,” Roseman said. “It took us a couple minutes. That hasn’t happened very often. The clock got lower than we’d like, but we were able to get him on the phone and make the selection.”
Roseman added that Philadelphia had valued Lemon much higher on its draft board, with internal projections suggesting he could go as early as pick 16. That belief pushed the team to act aggressively.
“We didn’t want to sit on our hands,” he said. “When you have a player ranked higher than where you’re picking, you try to go get him.”
Lemon said his pre-draft interactions with the Eagles, including a Combine meeting and top-30 visit, felt genuine and positive, making the landing spot even more meaningful.
Meanwhile, the Steelers pivoted immediately, selecting Arizona State offensive tackle Max Iheanachor with the next pick. Whether the late switch ultimately favors Philadelphia or Pittsburgh will only be determined in the seasons ahead.
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