Getty
Wide receiver Makai Lemon of the USC Trojans.
The Cleveland Browns raised a few eyebrows on Friday when they sat down with a pass-catcher rising up the board who has the potential to crack the top 10, potentially heading to Northeast Ohio via the No. 6 overall pick.
Cleveland met with USC wide receiver Makai Lemon on Friday, February 27th at the NFL combine, per TheDawgsPodcast.
Lemon is a hard riser in mock drafts across the media, including on ESPN analyst Mel Kiper’s latest board. Kiper has Lemon going No. 8 to the New Orleans Saints as the second wideout off the board.
Lemon spoke with media members at the combine on Friday and said he sees himself in the mold of Amon-Ra St. Brown of the Detroit Lions.
“I’d probably say Amon-Ra St. Brown, the type of grit he plays with,” Lemon said. “The way he can have a positive impact, you know, on the team without the ball in his hands.”
Lemon, who turns 22 years old in June, produced career highs across the board in the Big Ten last season with 79 receptions for 1,156 yards and 11 touchdowns on his way to All-American honors.
Browns Previously Linked to Wide Receivers Carnell Tate, Jordyn Tyson
GettyOhio State wide receiver Carnell Tate.
What makes the meeting with Lemon interesting is a potential chance that both Carnell Tate of Ohio State and Jordyn Tyson of Arizona State are available to the Browns at No. 6 overall.
Kiper projected earlier this week that the Browns will take Tate with that pick.
Like the [New York] Giants, the Browns need offensive line and receiver reinforcements. Unlike the Giants, the Browns have two first-round picks. So, although Miami lineman Francis Mauigoa is tempting here, Cleveland would likely take its pick of the entire WR class and kick the can down the order on the OL.
Tate is at the top of the receiver list right now, with great hands and savvy route running. Cleveland wideouts combined for just four touchdowns last season, so after an 875-yard, nine-TD season, Tate could step in as the top option for the Browns.
Mina Kimes, also of ESPN, dubbed Tate the best WR in the class on NFL Live on Friday, noting that he’s the one player who may be able to come in and make a difference right away.
But, here’s the rub: several analysts have recently predicted that the Giants select Tate at No. 5, one spot ahead of Cleveland, rather than picking offensive tackle Spencer Fano out of Utah as Kiper suggested.
Some analysts believe the Browns might go with two offensive lineman in the first round, the chances of which might well increase if New York takes Tate fifth overall and Cleveland drafts the best player available regardless of position.
However, if the Browns believe they can lock up two quality starting offensive linemen with the Nos. 24 and 39 selections, then Lemon could be their guy at No. 6 if Tate is off the board.
Jordyn Tyson Carries Injury Risk With Him Into NFL Draft
GettyArizona State wide receiver Jordyn Tyson.
Then there is Tyson to consider.
Just after Kimes dubbed Tate the top difference maker at receiver in the 2026 class, her ESPN colleague Field Yates said that Tyson would have been the No. 1 wideout off the board in last year’s draft and is the most explosive player at the position in either the 2025 or 2026 class, calling him a “different level of athlete.”
Tyson’s issue is a nagging hamstring injury that hindered him during the season and kept him sidelined during combine activities. Even with that concern, multiple mocks in recent weeks have identified Cleveland as a potential landing spot for Tyson. In fact, several have Tate and Tyson going at Nos. 5 and 6, respectively, in either order.
Of course, the Browns may have just been doing their due diligence by meeting with Lemon on Friday. The team also met with Tate and Tyson, as well as receiver Denzel Boston of Washington who is also likely to come off the board in the first round.
All four of those WRs are potentially in play for Cleveland at No. 6, while Boston could perhaps be a play at No. 24 if the Browns go offensive line first, as it is unlikely that Tate, Tyson or Lemon will fall into the mid-20s come draft night on April 23 in Pittsburgh.
Max Dible covers the NFL, NBA and MLB for Heavy.com, with a focus on the Green Bay Packers, Minnesota Vikings, Chicago Bears and Cleveland Browns. He covered local and statewide news as a reporter for West Hawaii Today and served as news director for BigIslandNow.com and Pacific Media Group’s family of Big Island radio stations before joining Heavy. More about Max Dible
More Heavy on Browns
Loading more stories