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The Eagles upstaged the Steelers, and cast more doubt on A.J. Brown’s future with the team, by selecting University of Southern California wide receiver Makai Lemon in the first round of the NFL draft in Pittsburgh on Thursday.
The Eagles traded up three places for the No. 20 overall pick, giving the Dallas Cowboys two fourth-round picks to get Lemon. That move overtook the Pittsburgh Steelers while Pittsburgh was literally on the phone trying to get Lemon.
Cue images of Gritty beating up a penguin, especially after the Pittsburgh crowd made their feelings about the Flyers loud and clear.
“It took us a couple of minutes to contact the player and get him on the phone. That hasn’t happened very often,” said Eagles general manager Howie Roseman. “The clock got down a little bit lower than we would have liked, but we were able to get in touch with him and obviously select him.”
The last time the Eagles traded up with the Cowboys for a draft pick was in 2021, when the team snagged Heisman-winning wide receiver DeVonta Smith from Alabama, so that’s a good omen.
As far as what this means for Brown’s heavily speculated trade to the New England Patriots, Roseman said nothing’s changed.
“AJ is a member of the Eagles. We don’t have any trades that have been made or that have been done, and I think for us, we’re taking this one day at a time,” he said. “We’re going to look to improve the team tomorrow, and we’ll continue to address anything that we have to with our roster.”
Lemon won the Biletnikoff Award, the honor given to the most outstanding receiver in college football, in his last season for the Trojans. The Los Alamitos, Calif. native had 1,156 receiving yards and 13 scrimmage touchdowns last season.
His reaction may not have been as wild as Camden native Jihaad Campbell’s was when he was selected 31st last year, but Lemon did give fans a strong viral summary of what they can expect from him.
“I love his toughness,” Birds head coach Nick Sirianni said Thursday night, also praising Lemon’s ability to separate from man coverage and contest for the ball. “I think this guy’s a tough, tough football player, with the way he carries the football, when he has the football in his hands, and how he blocks. Insanely competitive, so there’s a lot to like. Really excited that he’s added to our roster.”
