USC receiver Makai Lemon hopes to catch on with Rams in NFL draft

PITTSBURGH — It wasn’t as if Makai Lemon wasn’t accustomed to playing in front of NFL talent evaluators during his time at USC.Almost from the moment the wide receiver stepped foot on campus, he was on everyone’s radar.The interest only grew over the last two years when Lemon produced a combined 131 catches, 1,920 yards and 14 touchdowns, seemingly grabbing everything in sight. That included the times when he appeared to be fully covered, only to fight off his defender for the ball.It’s why he’s now considered a lock to be selected somewhere within the first 15 picks of the NFL draft, with the Chiefs, Saints and Rams all strong possibilities.It’s been a humbling experience for the Southern California native and former Los Alamitos star.

As he soaks it all in from Pittsburgh, where he will take in Thursday’s first round in anticipation of hearing NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell call his name, he is doing his best to enjoy the experience.“I’m just definitely cherishing every moment and just taking it all in,” Lemon said.“It’s definitely a blessing to be here and what I’ve got going for myself.”Unbeknownst to Lemon, though, a very important set of eyes was watching him from a very different vantage point during his time with the Trojans.

They belonged to Rams general manager Les Snead, who took in plenty of USC games more as a father than as an NFL executive, thanks to his son and daughter, both of whom attend USC.It was in that role that Snead got a chance to sit back and watch USC play, just like any other fan or father with a vested interest in the outcome.Only for the lines between proud dad and NFL general manager to continually get blurred, the more Lemon kept popping into his scope.That became a pretty routine occurrence, especially last season when Lemon earned the Biletnikoff Award as the best wide receiver in college football and first-team All-America honors.

The more Snead watched as a fan, the more he recognized a prospect ...