PHILADELPHIA — The Philadelphia Eagles’ locker room looks different.First, what used to be the back wall, where the offensive linemen sat, has been removed — an extension for the practice squad lockers that used to act like a median in the middle of the room. Less blatant, and more important, were the new placards naming the newly assigned locker stalls.There was Makai Lemon. A.J. Brown’s “Always Open” sign no longer hung from the stall’s header. Lemon, the No. 20 overall pick, now sits by DeVonta Smith, the most tenured member of an overhauled wide receiver room.Of course, the locker assignments only further solidify a transition that began months ago. After the Eagles waived Johnny Wilson on Aug. 21, Smith and Darius Cooper officially became the only returning members of Philly’s wide receiver room. Hollywood Brown, Dontayvion Wicks and Elijah Moore — general manager Howie Roseman’s veteran investments — have all moved into a section spanning eight stalls.Smith is the group’s chosen leader. He once again wears the C on his chest. His only previous selection as a team captain came in 2023. A.J. Brown, a three-time former captain, was the more outspoken of the dynamic duo, which allowed Smith to lean more into his tendency to be a leader seen more often than he was heard.Jonathan Greenard is back at practiceBrooks KubenaThe Eagles believed Smith could handle more leadership responsibilities long before they traded Brown. Coach Nick Sirianni knew Smith’s actions would back up any further words. Sirianni often points out that Smith is generally the first player at the facility every day. Sirianni sees Smith’s attentiveness in team meetings, his extra work in the weight room on his own time, and his extra work before and after practices.Smith’s proactive work schedule also serves a familial purpose: He can leave work promptly to be home for his wife, Mya Danielle, and their two young daughters, Kyse and Kali. He stuck to his schedule after Wednesday’s practice. He politely declined to be interviewed, saying he had to be home in time for a special occasion: Kyse had turned 3.Smith’s approach reflects the togetherness Sirianni emphasized in this season’s first team meeting. The sixth-year coach sees Smith as an example of the culture he wants to build in 2026.“DeVonta knows that everyone’s success on this team equals team success,” Sirianni said. “And he’s not threatened by anything there because of his position of being just a phenomenal football player, but he’s constantly looking to help people as well.”Wide receiver coach Aaron Moorehead said he presented the opportunity of being the top dog — as an active leadership role with the other receivers — as “a challenge” to Smith over the offseason.“He was ready for that,” Moorehead said. “He’s kind of always had that in there, and now it’s just time for him to take that last step of just being The Guy all the time.”Lemon is Smith’s most sensible protege. The rookie already digested one of his first lessons. They both injured their hamstrings during training camp around the same time, and Lemon, who reinjured the same hamstring he tweaked in OTAs, told reporters he needed to be more “professional” with his preparation. Moorehead said he gave Lemon some pretty straightforward advice: “Whatever Smitty does, you do.”“And he’s taken to that a little bit,” Moorehead said. “I know that Smitty’s done a good job of going out of his way to help him with some of that stuff.”Lemon’s availability is essential to the Eagles’ plans for their 2026 passing game. The coaching staff demonstrated this by immediately inserting Lemon into the first-team offense upon his return and playing him throughout the first half of the preseason finale against the Cincinnati Bengals. Even while Lemon was sidelined, Moorehead said the coaching staff “had to come up with creative ways” to simulate the on-field reps Lemon was missing.Some details were small, but important. Moorehead emphasized how important it was for Lemon to hear quarterback Jalen Hurts dictate the play calls in huddles. Moorehead wanted Lemon to get used to hearing Hurts’ voice — especially with louder environments awaiting in regular-season games. So, Moorehead had Lemon stand in the huddles — as a 12th player — and back away from the action when the others went to run the play.“It wasn’t the most fun thing in the world,” Moorehead said. “I know he wanted to be out there. We know we all wanted him to be out there. But that’s what you do. You sacrifice your time, you sacrifice your energy to get to where you want to go.”How ready is Lemon for Week 1? The rookie’s rough debut suggested he may still have a ways to go before he can fulfill the extent of offensive coordinator Sean Mannion’s plan for him in the system. That Sirianni sidestepped a question about Lemon’s readiness by emphasizing his confidence in the entire corps might suggest, at the very least, that Lemon must make use of this week’s practices to further prove that he is indeed ready for a regular-season debut.“Everybody is in a different spot when you go through an injury,” Sirianni said. “He maybe hasn’t had as many reps. I’m really confident in that room, all the guys in that room, including Makai, and excited about that room and the things that it will bring to our football team. We have a number of different guys that can make plays in that room, and Makai is definitely one of those guys. Looking forward to him having opportunities to be able to do that this Sunday and moving forward.”Josh Grizzard, Philly’s first-year pass game coordinator, was more effusive in his confidence in Lemon. Grizzard leads many of the wide receiver group’s meetings and sits next to Lemon. Moorehead also sits beside Lemon. Grizzard said Lemon has “done an unbelievable job” of being engaged in meetings and asking strong questions. Grizzard stands near the huddles in practices and watched Lemon learn his alignments and adjustments while sidelined.“He’s been dialed in,” Grizzard said. “He’s in a good spot, and I know he’s ready to go out there and rock and roll.”The Eagles are shifting toward more pure progression reads in the passing game, which emphasizes the importance of timing between Hurts and his receivers. Moorehead acknowledged that timing was Lemon’s biggest challenge returning from injury. Moorehead said Lemon has “done a good job” in his return, but said, “like any rookie, (he) is gonna have things that (he’s) gonna do really well, and things that he’s gonna have to improve on.”The Eagles drafted Lemon partly because the Biletnikoff Award winner was tough to bring down while playing at USC and had a knack for finding room to run. Lemon was the only Big Ten player with more than 500 yards after the catch in 2025 and tied for the FBS lead with 50 first-down receptions. Lemon’s expected usage as a motion receiver aims to create mismatches and opportunities for Hurts to strike Lemon in space.Yards after the catch stopped being a defining strength of the Eagles’ passing game after the 2022 season. The Eagles’ 4.4 average YAC per reception last season ranked second-lowest in the NFL, per TruMedia. Mannion may not have been using his entire playbook during the preseason. Still, the offense’s reserves averaged a seventh-ranked 5.4 YAC per reception. Can that improvement carry into the regular season with the starters?If there is any gap in the game plan for Lemon, Moore is next in line. Moore, a six-year veteran, impressed Sirianni by creating explosive plays with straight-line speed on deep balls, jet sweeps, screens and slants. Moore caught two deep touchdowns from Hurts in training camp. But Lemon’s intensity and approach to correcting mistakes encourage the coaching staff.“It matters (to him),” Moorehead said. “He focuses. He doesn’t want to mess up, and he wants to get in there and make sure — there are 10 other guys counting on him, and he understands that.”