Wide receiver Xavier Legette was as happy as the Carolina Panthers as Thursday's first round came to a close.
Carolina traded up to select him with the No. 32 overall pick, making good on the South Carolina product's admission that the Panthers were the team most interested in him.
Following the selection, Panthers general manager Dan Morgan was exuberant about the franchise getting its "guy." As for Legette, he had a more menacing message to the rest of the league as he plans to play a central role in Carolina's offense in the 2024 season.
“It’s a grown man’s game,” Legette said to reporters after being selected. “And I feel like I’m a grown man.”
At 6-foot-1, Legette has great size. He is also quite versatile, which is exactly what Dave Canales and Morgan loved about his game.
It is that versatility he is excited to bring to Charlotte.
"I know what I feel like I can bring to the team," Legette said. "Being able to have the ability to move me around on offense –moving me around on special teams as well – I feel like I can bring a whole lot to the team."
Versatility was the name of the game behind the Panthers' selection of Legette, who had one full season as an every-game starter at the University of South Carolina.
“The athletic traits — height, weight, speed — 6-1, 221. 4.39. Really balanced hands. That’s a pretty good start,” Canales said. “Then you look at the versatile ways the Gamecocks were able to use him — out of the backfield, jet sweeps, short crossers, perimeter screens, down-the-field posts. There really isn’t much else we do with receivers. He’s done it all.”
Carolina is eager to get him in-house and have him work with Adam Thielen and Diontae Johnson. Legette's presence will undoubtedly make Bryce Young's life easier, which has been the name of the game for the Panthers all offseason. The Panthers got its guy, and now Legette has to live up to all the pre-draft hype.
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