The Philadelphia Eagles continue to beef up their contingency plan for the expected trade of AJ Brown.
Philadelphia made a notable move during Thursday’s NFL Draft. They traded up to the No. 20 pick, sending picks No. 23, 114, and 137 to the Dallas Cowboys in return (along with a seventh-round draft pick in 2027).
With the No. 20 pick, the Eagles chose wide receiver Makai Lemon out of USC. Lemon, 21, now heads to Philadelphia after winning the Fred Biletnikoff Award in 2025 as the nation’s top wide receiver.
The @Eagles trade up to the 20th pick and select Makai Lemon from @uscfb!
— NFL (@NFL) April 24, 2026
2026 NFL Draft starts on NFLN/ESPN/ABC
Stream on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/k0ARwfiTMv
The Eagles still currently have the disgruntled three-time NFL All-Pro Brown on their roster. But they are widely expected to trade Brown to one top AFC team after June 1 (with the timing due to the nature of Brown’s contract and the associated cap hit).
Meanwhile, Philadelphia has already been busy adding wide receivers in recent months. They signed Marquise “Hollywood” Brown and Elijah Moore and also acquired Dontayvion Wicks in a trade earlier in April with the Green Bay Packers.
Lemon, 21, was an All-American for the Trojans last year, catching 79 passes for 1,156 yards and 11 touchdowns. Though Lemon sparked concern at the NFL Combine with some very bizarre interviews, the Eagles will now task him with helping to replace some of Brown’s production in 2026 and beyond.
