The Los Angeles Rams have elite wide receivers in Puka Nacua and Davante Adams. But there’s always room for one more in Sean McVay’s offense.
NFL insider Jason La Canfora linked the Rams, and McVay, to USC wide receiver Makai Lemon and thinks LA will choose him with the 13th pick if he is still available.
The Rams still have Adams under contract through this season but could be inclined to fortify their wide-receiving corps beyond this season. Nacua, who is still just six weeks from his 25th birthday, has had a tumultuous offseason, and Adams will be 34 when his contract expires in March.
Lemon won the Biletnikoff Award, given to the best wide receiver in college football, in his junior year at USC. He finished his three-year tenure with 137 catches for 2,008 yards and 14 touchdowns for the Trojans.
The Rams Could Choose Makai Lemon at No. 13 overall
The Rams have fallen just short in the NFC playoffs in three straight seasons. Their defense faltered in the 31-27 loss to the Seattle Seahawks in the NFC Championship Game in January.
Still, LA is making only its second first-round pick since it moved from St. Louis — Jared Verse at No. 19 was the other.
So it is hard to imagine that McVay could pass up taking a receiver if given the option to, especially one who is as well thought-of as Lemon with the pick it acquired from the Atlanta Falcons during the first round of the 2025 draft in Green Bay.
Lemon could be the slot receiver that ultimately replaces franchise legend Cooper Kupp, even though Adams technically did so.
“He is the prototypical slot receiver and someone who is seen as having all the characteristics to dominate in a YAC (yards-after-catch) schemed offense,” La Canfora reported for SportsBoom. “Given that Rams quarterback Matt Stafford is as precise as they come, and is the reigning MVP, this is a fit that other teams believe is going to happen.
La Canfora cited an unidentified NFL personnel director who felt LA was the perfect fit for Lemon.
âThis kid was born to play in that offense,â a longtime NFL personnel director told La Canfora. âHe blocks his a– off in the run game, and he is a YAC monster.â
All that is why La Canfora is expecting the Rams to select Lemon if he’s available.
“Expect to see plenty more people having Lemon going off the board at pick 13,” La Canfora reported. “If I had to produce a mock draft right now, Iâd be among them.”
The Rams Have Other Options if Makai Lemon Goes off the Board
Jordyn Tyson may not be the fit that Lemon is, since Nacua and Adams are outside wideouts like the Arizona State receiver.
So if Lemon is selected before the Rams are up — Gennaro Filice of NFL.com projected him to go No. 11 to the Miami Dolphins — La Canfora laid out LA’s options.
“The Rams could certainly use some fortification along the offensive line,” he reported. “Some hybrid safeties will certainly catch their attention as well.”
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