Makai Lemon or Pat Freiermuth: Who Should You Start?
Preliminary board2026 Week 1 · deterministic head-to-head · Verdicts based on PPR scoring.
Verdicts sharpen as practice reports land.
Start Freiermuth — the consensus rank edge is too wide to ignore.
Pat Freiermuth is the higher consensus play (TE24 to WR49). Lemon's edge is the game script, 26.0 implied points to 22.8. The gap is narrow.
Makai Lemon
5.87.28.5 Projected Points
Pat Freiermuth
4.96.78.4 Projected Points
Why Makai Lemon
Sit· mediumRookie WR3 in Philly's rotation projects just 8.5 PPR points (WR49) — below flex-worthy in 12-team leagues despite the 26.0 implied total.
- WSH ranks 23 of 32 against WRs (one of the softer matchups, 0-game sample).
- Vegas implies 26.0 team points as 5.5-point favorites.
- Listed WR-3 on the latest depth chart.
The call
- Consensus has him at WR49 with an 8.5-point projection; in a 12-team PPR you're starting roughly 36 receivers, so that's replacement level at best.
- Depth-chart reality is the cap: he's the WR-3 in Philadelphia, so target volume runs through the top two options before him and there's no established snap or target share to lean on.
- The environment is fine — 26.0 implied team total as a 5.5-point favorite — but a favored script can also mean fewer pass attempts late, which hurts the third receiver most.
- The opponent DvP mark of 23 of 32 comes off a 0-game sample with 0.00 confidence, so there's no matchup edge here worth chasing. A clear injury ahead of him on the depth chart is what would flip this to a flex play.
Latest on Lemon
Eagles rookie receiver Makai Lemon participated fully in practice for the first time since injuring his hamstring early in training camp Monday and believes he can be in top form for the season opener against the Commanders on Sept. 13.
ESPN · Aug 24, 2026
Reported by the sources listed — not independently verified.
Why Pat Freiermuth
StartStarting TE in dual-role usage. Reliable underneath/seam target with red-zone production.
Start — TE24 consensus, projects TE17 this week: ATL is the 3rd-toughest matchup vs TEs, 12% target share in 2025.
- ATL ranks 3 of 32 against TEs (one of the tougher matchups, 0-game sample).
- Vegas implies 22.8 team points as 3.0-point favorites.
- Listed TE on the latest depth chart with a 53% snap share in 2025.
Head-to-head stats
| Metric | Makai Lemon | Pat Freiermuth |
|---|---|---|
| Projected points | 5.87.28.5 | 4.96.78.4 |
| Consensus rank | WR49 | TE24 |
| Opponent vs position | WSH · 23 of 320-game sample | ATL · 3 of 320-game sample |
| Receptions | 25 of 32 | 3 of 32 |
| Receiving Yards | 27 of 32 | 8 of 32 |
| Receiving TDs | 22 of 32 | 1 of 32 |
| Targets | 23 of 32 | 4 of 32 |
| Anytime TD | 18 of 32 | 1 of 32 |
| Target share | — | 12%(2025) |
| Reception share | — | 13%(2025) |
| Implied total · spread | 26.0-5.5 | 22.8-3.0 |
| Depth chart | WR3 | TE1 |
| Snap share | — | 53%(2025) |
Signal breakdown
- 8.5 vs 8.4 projected PPR pointsMakai Lemon +
- Rank 49 vs 24Pat Freiermuth +
- Opponent DvP rank 23 vs 3 (32 = softest)even
- Implied 26.0 vs 22.8 team pointsMakai Lemon +
- No injury designationseven
- Snap shareeven
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