The Philadelphia Eagles made a statement when trading up to the no. 20 overall pick and selecting wide receiver Makai Lemon. The former USC standout instantly becomes a big part of this Eagles offense.
With Lemon coming to Philly, it certainly cements the fate of fellow wide receiver A.J. Brown. We all know what's coming and what's been coming with Brown. It's abundantly clear, by now, that the Eagles are going to trade him once they are able to (June 1).
But Lemon's arrival doesn't just signal an end to Brown's tenure in Philadelphia. With his skillset, Lemon can't outright replace Brown. He's not an outside wide receiver. Lemon is a slot mercenary.
So, what does that mean outside of a simple, "AJ Brown is gone" reaction?
Makai Lemon's arrival knocks Hollywood Brown out of a starting role and might force another WR off the team
The next ripple effect of Lemon's arrival is, of course, a likelihood that he'll wind up taking the starting spot from newly signed Hollywood Brown.
The Eagles didn't know they'd end up with Lemon, obviously, so bringing Brown into the fold made sense at the time. But now, where does Brown go?
Philadelphia also traded for former Green Bay Packers wide receiver Dontayvion Wicks. By some accounts, Wicks would be the logical Brown replacement on the outside. So, to sum it up, the Eagles' outside receivers are theoretically Wicks and DeVonta Smith, while Lemon mans the slot.
Brown could be an odd man out and relegated to the WR4 spot.
From there, though, another veteran could be on his way out. The Eagles not only signed (Hollywood) Brown, but brought in Elijah Moore.
At this point, most would call Moore a slot receiver as well. Yet, he could be all the way at the back end of the slot depth chart, even behind Britain Covey.
Are the Eagles going to keep four slot receivers on this football team? Can they realistically do so?
No chance.
It's early, but right now, you could make an argument that the Eagles' top five receivers are: (DeVonta) Smith, Lemon, Wicks, (Hollywood) Brown, and Johnny Wilson.
From there, if the Eagles kept six, is it going to be Darius Cooper? Quez Watkins? Covey? Moore?
Moore already had an uphill battle as it was, but with Lemon's arrival, it might put him firmly out of any conversation to make this roster.
Read more: Howie Roseman says the quiet part most GMs won't say (but Eagles fans know)
Just like that, with one draft pick, the Eagles will now see several ripple effects.
Add us as a preferred source on Google