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On Sunday afternoon, the Philadelphia Eagles opened their season with a win against the Washington Commanders, taking down their division rivals, 24-22. While it was just the start to any other season for some players on the field, it was an even more important moment for Makai Lemon, as he made his NFL debut.
Lemon was selected with the 20th pick in the NFL Draft by the Eagles, as the team looked to add some quality tools for Jalen Hurts to pass to, with the looming exit of AJ Brown surrounding the team at the time.
But when all was said and done, Lemon didn't exactly shine in his debut, receiving four targets, in which he made three receptions and recorded -5 yards. This quickly drew some negative feedback from some of the Philadelphia faithful, but not from Eagles' head coach Nick Sirianni, who stood up for his rookie and highlighted some of the positive things he did on the field.
Sirianni assesses Lemon's debut
Makai Lemon had -5 yards on the day on Sunday but Nick Sirianni unpacks some of the positives for the Eagles' first-round pick. pic.twitter.com/o8ZCUrISGf
— NBC Sports Philadelphia (@NBCSPhilly) September 14, 2026The Eagles coach explained that some of the things that Lemon was doing well aren't things that are reflected in the stat lines that he finished the game with.
"He's done a good job since he's been here of blocking, doing the right things, you know, being in the right spots; obviously, the ones that went to him yesterday didn't equal out to be a big yardage gains, right," stated Sirianni. "But he did little things to help us win the football game that sometimes are unseen and unnoticed."
It's important to note that Sunday's match was not only Lemon's NFL debut, but also his first time getting a snap in with the Eagles, as he didn't appear throughout the team's preseason for one reason or another.
The rookie will get a chance to respond to the criticism on Sunday afternoon, when the Eagles pay a vist to the Tennessee Titans, with kick-off slated for 1:00 p.m. EST.
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