When the Philadelphia Eagles released their depth chart ahead of Week 1 against the Washington Commanders, they left a bit of a surprise at the end regarding the punt returner.
The early depth chart suggests that the rookie wide receiver Makai Lemon will be fielding punts.
However, there are doubts about that truly being the case from a team insider.
Eagles Rookie Gets Surprising Placement On Depth Chart vs Commanders
“Is Lemon really going to be the punt returner? I have my doubts,” wrote Brandon Lee-Gowton of Bleeding Green Nation.
“He only returned six punts in college (albeit for a productive 11.8 average) and then didn’t get many reps in that regard this summer. Not to mention it’s probably best to have him just focus on his offensive role, at least early on.”
Not only is Lemon’s placement as the return man surprising–but so is the fact that he’s the starting WR3 on the depth chart. The rookie missed a large chunk of camp due to a hamstring injury, and didn’t exactly wow the bystanders before and after his recovery.
However, the Eagles invested a first-round pick in Lemon. Therefore, they are trying to make the pick worth it as early as possible.
If Not Lemon, Then Who?
At this point, multiple Eagles insiders have suggested that Britain Covey could get called up from the practice squad ahead of gameday.
The 29-year-old veteran has been with the Eagles since 2022. While he ran some routes for the team and caught 13 passes before, Covey has been the primary return man, fielding 79 punt returns for 895 yards.
It’s clearly not a Covey-or-bust situation, but Lemon is far from a lock to truly hold the returner label. Seeing as though he’s on the active roster, while Covey isn’t, the Eagles just needed a name on there. We’ll see if it’s real or not soon enough.