Xavier Legette

Xavier Legette, a standout wide receiver from South Carolina, made his mark in college football with exceptional performances, especially during his super senior year. At 6'3" and 227 lbs, Legette combines size and athleticism, ideal for an outside receiver role. Known for his strong hands and ability to secure catches in traffic, he doesn't rely on his body to catch the ball, which underscores his reliability. Legette broke out in his fifth year with a 35% dominator rating, accumulating 1,255 yards and seven touchdowns on 71 receptions. While entering the NFL at 23 as a one-year wonder does present concerns about his consistency, his physical attributes are reminiscent of players like D.K. Metcalf, highlighting his potential but also his dependence on the right team setup. Drafted in the first round by the Carolina Panthers, who see his fit in an offense designed to leverage his playmaking and yards-after-catch skills under new HC Dave Canales, Legette's success may hinge significantly on how well he's utilized in the Panthers' scheme.

Legette is a long-striding boundary receiver. He plays bigger than his listed size suggests. He has superb back-shoulder ball skills and body control in the air. Legette has a big catch radius as he high points the ball well with a pair of strong hands. He is a developmental wide receiver who needs to improve on the little things of the position. Legette has good deceleration at the top of his stem for his size, but it can be inconsistent. He'll have a few routes where he sharply drops his hips and decelerates, leaving corners searching, and then he'll be lax and get clunky with his footwork at the top of his stem. Legette needs to sell his vertical push more consistently. Many routes look strong, but then he'll sneak in some reps where he's telegraphing his intentions. The need for consistency bleeds over into other areas of his game. He lacks consistent spatial awareness against zone drifting on some routes where he should put the brakes on in space. His releases need work. Legette opts for speed releases on many routes, but he needs to continue to hone his footwork and add more release tactics to the tool bag. His footwork has to continue to improve if he hopes to gain separation off the line in the NFL, especially on short area and intermediate routes. He plays bigger than his size would indicate, which is a plus in some areas, but it's not here as he runs and has the footwork speed of a bigger-bodied wide receiver. Dynasty Outlook: The Carolina Panthers moved into the first round of the NFL Draft to select Legette. He enters a now seemingly crowded receiving depth chart alongside Diontae Johnson and Adam Thielen. Legette should be the immediate WR3 for the team and the likely field stretcher with Johnson and Thielen operating underneath. Legette could be the team's WR1 as soon as 2025. Johnson is a free agent after the 2024 season, and the team can move on from Thielen after 2024 (5 million dead cap hit if he's cut). Thielen is a free agent in 2026. There are a lot of worries about Legette's overall profile, but he displayed a high ceiling in his final season in South Carolina. If (it's a big IF) he hits his ceiling, it should be impressive. Legette is a swing from your heels second-round pick in rookie drafts. He's an "Adam Dunn" type of prospect. The two most probable outcomes are he's either a moonshot home run or a bone-chilling strikeout.