The Philadelphia Eagles didn’t trade up in the 1st round to pick wide receiver Makai Lemon and not play him. They picked Lemon at No. 20 overall to try to make up for the long-presumed exit of 3-time NFL All-Pro A.J. Brown.
That’s why ESPN analyst and former NFL quarterback Dan Orlovsky called out Lemon and the Eagles’ 2nd round pick, tight end Eli Stowers, as the 2 players under the “Most Pressure” in the NFL in 2026.
“Makai Lemon is under the most pressure of any wide receiver in the NFL because he’s trying to replace one of the 2-3 best wide receivers in the NFL,” Orlovsky said on “GetUp” Monday morning. “Both of the (Eagles) rookies need to be in the Offensive Rookie of the Year conversation … look, the Cowboys have 2 elite wide receivers, the Seahawks have 2 elite wide receivers. For every team in the NFC Playoff picture, you need 2 big-time wide receivers. That’s why the pressure is on Lemon.”
While Orlovsky is correct that Lemon and Stowers will both face pressure to perform in 2026, the pressure won’t be as extreme as he makes it out to be.
Why Dan Orlovsky is Wrong About Makai Lemon
The pressure to replace Brown won’t land on Lemon â at least not right away.
To start, at least, that pressure falls to DeVonta Smith, the Eagles’ 2021 1st-round pick, who has starred for the Eagles in a “Robin” role to Brown’s “Batman” for the last 3 seasons.
“The person that’s going to replace Brown is DeVonta Smith, who has been a 1B option for the Eagles but everyone thinks is more than capable of stepping into that 1A role,” ESPN analyst and former NFL defensive back Domonique Foxworth said on Monday morning. “The more accurate thing for Lemon is he’s trying to replace Smith, which isn’t as big a task as replacing Brown.”
The Eagles, in a surprise to no one, aren’t putting all their wide receiver eggs in 2 baskets. Philadelphia traded a 2027 6th-round pick and a 2026 5th-round pick to the Green Bay Packers for wide receiver Dontayvion Wicks and automatically signed him to a 1-year, $12.5 million contract extension.
They also brought in a low-risk, high-reward wide receiver in free agency with a 1-year, $2 million contract for former 1st round pick Marquise “Hollywood” Brown.
Why Dan Orlovsky is Wrong About Eli Stowers
Stowers will be called upon to add to the offense in 2026, but it will be in a mostly complementary role at tight end behind veteran starter Dallas Goedert.
While it’s on new offensive coordinator Sean Mannion to find ways to incorporate the 6-foot-4, 239-pound Stowers into the offense, that won’t be easy.
The 1st look for quarterback Jalen Hurts at tight end will be to Goedert, who set a franchise single-season record for tight ends with 11 touchdown receptions in 2025.
Bleacher Reportâs Brent Solbeski handed the Eagles a âCâ grade for taking Stowers.
âThe reigning John Mackey Award winner would have been rated higher throughout this process if he had contributed anything as an inline option,â Sobleski wrote. âTo be clear, Stowers has experience working in-line, but heâs not much of a blocker and lacks the strength and technique to excel in that area at the next level ⦠provides little to nothing as a blocker, functional strength is limiting, can improve route-running.â
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