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SCOUTING REPORT

1.5-year starter in the slot in HC Lincoln Riley's version of the Air Raid offense. Undersized target often put on the move. They found creative ways to get him the football and let him build up speed to create big plays. A fluid and smooth athlete that won't be viewed as dynamic by NFL standards but he has enough speed and savvy to work all three levels of the field. He catches anything thrown his way and will work immediately upfield with the ball in his hands. Overall I see a high-floor complementary piece in the NFL with the ceiling of being a low-end No. 1 in an offense that can consistency scheme him open on the move. He took his game to another level in 2025, and I do think he has the ceiling to be a high-volume target in the right situation, but even if he doesn't hit that mark I think he has a super high floor as a dirty work slot guy with special teams value. A very useful piece on offense who can help in a variety of ways, but I he's a slot or movement Z who I want to move around the formation and keep clean early in the down.

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👤 BACKGROUND

• Pronounced ‘muh-KYE’
• Will be 22 for his entire rookie season (born June 2, 2004)
• From Los Alamitos, CA
• Was a 5-star and Top 15 overall recruit at Los Alamitos High School (8 NFL alum, including former Cowboys CB Orlando Scandrick and former Eagles DT Mike Patterson) after playing his freshman season at Mirada High School (4 NFL alum, including Bears S Elijah Hicks)
  • Played both quarterback and receiver in high school as well as defensive back
  • Originally committed to Oklahoma but flipped to USC when Lincoln Riley was hired by the school
• In 2023 he saw the field right away as a true freshman, posting six catches and five kick returns, and actually played on both sides of the ball. Lemon got 18 snaps (1 tackle) on defense in the rivalry game with UCLA (injuries ransacked the secondary and they needed a body on that side, so he volunteered).
• In 2024 he earned a more established role on offense as a sophomore, starting six games and earning Honorable Mention All-Big 10 honors as a receiver after leading the Trojans in catches and yards
• In 2025 he won the Biletnikoff Award as the most outstanding receiver in College Football after leading the Big 10 in both yards (4th in the country) and TDs (5th)
  • Did not start, missing the entire first quarter, in the team’s Rivalry game vs UCLA in response to what HC Lincoln Riley described as a ‘violation of team rules’
• Injuries have been a consistent issue. Missed four games in 2023. Then, in 2024, he had a scary moment in the Michigan game where he collided with an opponent on punt coverage; he was taken out of the stadium in an ambulance and missed the following week against Wisconsin. In the spring of 2025 he was limited during spring ball after a hamstring injury he suffered just before camp started.
• Invited to the Scouting Combine
  • Did not test
  • I thought he had a really clean field workout. He had one drop on his first Gauntlet run and that was it. I thought he looked smooth and quick. He had a great finger tip grab over the shoulder on his Post-Corner route. He looked sharp on the intermediate and quick game routes. Really clean.
• Pro Day (March 12)
  • Ran the 40-yard dash
  • Plan was to not do positional work after doing so at the Combine, but he changed his mind last-minute and worked out, reportedly looking good in the process once again

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🏃‍♂️ PHYSICAL TOOLS

• Below average height and weight; tiny hands with short arms
• Average overall athletic profile for his size. Smooth change of direction ability; drops his pads and gets in and out with ease. Just wouldn’t call him explosive for his size.
• Pretty good top-end speed; won't be viewed as a burner but can definitely work downfield.
• Punches a bit above his weight and will look to fight through contact, particularly with the ball in his hands

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🏈 PRE-CATCH

• Faced a decent amount of press and has the short-area quicks to find space to work early; got beaten up by Notre Dame and that game gives me a bit of pause when projecting him to being a consistent presence outside
• Thought he really improved as a route runner from 2024 to 2025. Was mechanical and easy to read as a sophomore but body language off the ball was much better as a junior. Sharper on one-cut routes.
• Savvy without the ball. Has a real feel for finding gaps in zone coverage and seems to be on the same page as his QB. Good sight-adjusts. Runs Mesh routes well. Sells fades well on runs to his side to occupy DB. </aside>

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🏈 CATCH POINT-PLUS

• Not often asked to track the ball over his shoulder or attack it in the air (lot of targets on the move) but the flashes are outstanding; great grab over the shoulder vs Iowa. Strong sideline awareness.
• Not credited with many drops but had a number of double catches on tape and didn't look as confident when he was dealing with contact or traffic at the catch point
• Typically stays grounded through the catch and immediately works upfield. Vision in space to create explosives. </aside>

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🏈 USAGE / PLAY PERSONALITY

• Lined up primarily in the slot with some reps as a wing
• Lot of screens / gadgets / shallows underneath
• Used around the formation as a blocker. Love his effort backside. He'll get chippy with DBs but size can be a factor here. Thought he improved here from '24-'25.
• Has been a starter on all four core special teams units in his career and offers value as a KR as well, earning 3rd-Team All-Big 10 honors in 2024 (19 returns for 514 yards and a 27.1 average) </aside>

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📊 NUMBERS THAT MATTER

• Only five wideouts charted in the last ten drafts had a better career drop rate (2.8 percent), and only two of them had more career targets than Lemon

https://x.com/FDuffyNFL/status/2026141861761433896?s=20

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🗯️ WORD ON THE STREET

• “He’s kind of one of those guys where I don’t know that he’s great at anything yet, but he’s really good at a lot of things.” - USC HC Lincoln Riley in October 2024
• “I think you’ve slowly kinda seen him slowly build toward a game like this, since he came back just from being out. Obviously, having him healthy really helps us offensively. And I don’t think anyone is surprised by that.” - former USC QB Miller Moss in October 2024
• “He’s a hell of a player. I think, he’s a guy that gets open consistently versus man coverage, which is really important. He has really, really reliable hands. He’s a competitor and just someone in general that I love playing with.” - former USC QB Miller Moss in October 2024
• “Lem’s incredible, man. Lem’s a dog. He is everything that you’d want a great receiver to be. He's super physical, a dog mindset, he catches everything, runs great routes. Anything you can ask for, Lem has it.” - Former USC (current Florida State) WR Duce Robinson
• Coaches’ favorite in that building and a guy that they vouch for internally
• “I think he’s a first-round pick. Got a little bit of Jaxon Smith-Njigba to him. The body control and natural ball instincts are similar. He’s just real smooth. He’ll probably start out in the slot.” - Anonymous NFL Scout to Bob McGinn
• “He’s an overachieving type. Got to give him credit for the production, and he’s tough as hell. He’s strictly a slot guy. I don’t think he’s really a top athlete with his movement, flexibility. Similar to like an Amon-Ra St. Brown. Same school, kind of plays the same position, moves a little bit like him. I didn’t think Amon-Ra would have the career he’s had. He might be a top pick but he’s just kind of a scrappy guy. Not in any way is he some sort of elite talent.” - Anonymous NFL Scout to Bob McGinn
• “Very effective in and out of breaks. He can do all the short-to-intermediate stuff and then he’s got enough juice to go down the seam and to the corner. Just makes a lot of catches. Has very good hands. He’s more of a slot-Z kind of receiver who can do some dirty work. He had kind of a wonky combine interview thing but I think people will overlook that. He just was kind of spaced out.” - Anonymous NFL Scout to Bob McGinn
• “He’s a really good player but first round seems (high). He ended up running better than I thought. Just kind of average size, average speed. You don’t see those guys typically going in the first round.” - Anonymous NFL Scout to Bob McGinn </aside>

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👥 PLAYER COMPARISON

• WORKING COMP:
  • Khalil Shakir
    • Hat Tip to NFL Films’ Greg Cosell on that one; he brought that up to me before the Combine and I can definitely see it
• OTHER NAMES IN CONSIDERATION: </aside>

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