Philadelphia Eagles rookie wide receiver Makai Lemon is having quite the day, as he has stayed busy with the rookies being in town.
Lemon first signed his four-year, fully guaranteed contract with the Eagles, becoming the first first-round pick to sign with his team. He also revealed his new jersey number, which will be the same one he wore in college: nine.
Eagles fans will first talk about the player who last wore that number, former Super Bowl MVP quarterback Nick Foles. Lemon shared his appreciation for the Eagles and Foles during his press conference for passing the number down, as Foles gave his blessing to wear it.
"I'll represent the nine well."
Makai Lemon to wear number nine to start his Eagles career
Foles with just another classy move, as he has always been, for letting Lemon wear that number. Eagles fans love the number nine on Foles because of what he meant to the franchise, helping Philly win their first Super Bowl ever back in 2018.
Lemon deserves credit too, as he has shown his maturity and respect since joining the Eagles just a week ago, when the team selected him 20th overall in the 2026 NFL Draft. He seems to understand how important his role is with the Eagles, as A.J. Brown has one foot out the door, and he takes on the WR2 role with DeVonta Smith as the number one guy.
There is a legacy of good players in Eagles history who have worn the number nine jersey, besides Foles, including Jeff Garcia, Sonny Jurgensen, Jim Nettles, and Rodney Peete. While those players were good, Foles is obviously in a class of his own with the younger generation, but Jurgensen also won an NFL Championship with the Eagles in 1960.
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Lemon has some big shoes to fill with taking over the number nine from Foles, but he seems to have all the right stuff to be a great receiver in this league.
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