Who are the Panthers getting in Xavier Legette?

The Carolina Panthers shocked no one and took a wide receiver with their first selection in the 2024 NFL Draft.

While much of the Carolinas were asleep the Carolina Panthers swung a trade with the Buffalo Bills to move up one spot and take Xavier Legette with the last pick of the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft. The team had a dire need at wide receiver, so it’s wholly unsurprising to see them target the position. The player they settled on might be a little surprising if not for the fact that there were giant plumes of smoke billowing up from the idea.

Legette’s appeal is in his physical profile. He ran a 4.39 40 at the combine at 221 pounds. He’s chiseled and looks the part of a dominant football player. He’s not just a track athlete though. The speed shows up on the field.

With that size comes the strength to bully smaller defensive backs, which Legette can and does do. He uses subtle nudges and shoves to create space while the ball is in flight on deep balls, outmuscles smaller defenders for contested catches, and runs through tackles when he gets a head of steam. He can take a short crossing route or bubble screen the distance if he gets just a bit of daylight. He can even run a few plays out of the backfield.

If you look at the highlights and production of just that final year at South Carolina, it’s easy to see why NFL teams and some people in scouting circles would be super high on Legette. He’s a big play threat that the Panthers are sorely lacking and his physical tools suggest he can be a very good player. The optimists compare him to AJ Brown and DK Metcalf. I’ve also heard Deebo Samuel with less wiggle or Cordarrelle Patterson as comparisons.

He’s far from a perfect prospect though. He’s a little stiff and his route running needs a good bit more polish. He doesn’t sell fakes and jabs in his routes and seems to wait more for the ball to come to him before he makes a point to create separation.

There are also concerns about the statistical profile. While his final season at South Carolina was stellar—he tallied 1,255 yards and seven touchdowns at 71 catches from balls being thrown by Spencer Rattler, it was an anomaly compared to the rest of his career. In his first four seasons at South Carolina, he averaged about one catch per game.

Panthers head coach Dave Canales has talked about self awareness in his press conferences, and he touched on that when talking about Legette. He said that Legette gave a great summary of his development and how he got to this point, so he clearly was able to explain that production profile to Canales in a way that the coach felt good about. It’s still an unnerving profile on the surface.

If Legette hits, he’ll be a physically dominant home run threat that unlocks the Panthers offense and provides it an explosive outlet. Or he could be another Jonathan Mingo.