Two USC wide receivers are already making noise in the NFL, and their early camp work is drawing attention for different reasons.
Makai Lemon, who went from USC to the Philadelphia Eagles as the No. 20 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, has caught the eye of one of his new teammates. Hollywood Brown, another receiver with Lincoln Riley ties, praised Lemon’s approach after seeing him up close in camp.
“Makai works extremely hard,” said Brown to reporters. “He’s very detailed as well, and he’s tough.
He’s competing every day…He gets hit, bounces up and goes hard the next play. I’m impressed with him.”
Lemon’s rise at USC was sharp. He played there from 2023-2025, then broke out as a junior last season with 79 catches for 1,156 yards and 11 touchdowns, plus two rushing scores.
That production earned him the 2025 Biletnikoff Award, given to the most outstanding wide receiver in college football. Philadelphia is hoping that kind of impact helps fix an aerial attack that struggled last season.
Brown’s praise carries a little extra weight because he and Lemon both worked under Lincoln Riley. Brown played for Riley at Oklahoma from 2017-2018 before becoming the No. 25 overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft by the Baltimore Ravens.
Lemon’s former USC teammate Ja’Kobi Lane is also turning heads in Baltimore. Lane, who played alongside Lemon from 2023-2025, finished his Trojan career with 99 receptions for 1,363 yards and 18 touchdowns before the Ravens took him in the third round of the 2026 draft.
One of Lane’s calling cards at USC was his ability to come down with one-handed grabs, and that skill is already showing up in the NFL. He recently hauled in an eye-catching one-handed catch on a 20-yard pass from Lamar Jackson.
OMG @cantGuardJak1 😮💨😮💨😮💨 pic.twitter.com/X2nkgB7bxd
Lane also made a habit of highlight plays in college, including a one-handed touchdown catch last season against Georgia Southern.
USC will have to replace both Lemon and Lane in 2026, but the Trojans still have a receiver ready for a bigger role. Sophomore Tanook Hines looks lined up for that jump after serving as USC’s No. 3 wideout behind Lemon and Lane in 2025.
As a true freshman last season, Hines put up 34 receptions for 561 yards and two touchdowns. His late-season surge is what stands out most: in two of USC’s final three games, he led the team in receiving yards, finishing with 141 against Oregon and 163 against TCU.
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