One of the most surreal NFL Draft stories in recent memory involved wide receiver Makai Lemon during the first round on Thursday night.
The Eagles selected Lemon, who played at USC and won the Fred Biletnikoff Award for best wide receiver in college football last year, 20th overall.
However, the unanimous All-American’s path to Philadelphia was not straightforward.
As NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport revealed Thursday, Lemon was actually on the phone with Omar Khan, the GM of the Steelers, who held the 21st overall pick and was congratulating him on getting drafted by Pittsburgh. But at the same time, Eagles GM Howie Roseman was engineering a trade with the Cowboys, a division rival, to give Dallas two fourth-rounders in return for swapping spots in the first round. Rapoport explained that the Steelers believed Lemon would fall to them because the Cowboys were widely expected to pick a defensive player.
Friday, Good Morning Football revealed the actual footage of Lemon on the phone with Khan.
At the beginning of the clip, the wideout and his family were celebrating excitedly about the news he’d be going to Pittsburgh. But then, the video cuts to a clip of Lemon receiving another call and asking, “Hey, why is Philly calling?” At that moment, Lemon’s agent informed him, “Philly just traded for you!”
The Eagles’ selection of Lemon comes amid an offseason in which Philadelphia has been retooling its wide receiver room. Earlier this offseason, the Eagles traded two late-round picks to the Packers for Dontayvion Wicks, and are widely reported to be planning to trade AJ Brown to the Patriots in a deal that won’t be completed until after June 1 for salary cap purposes.
