Analyst just said the quiet part out loud about Panthers WR Xavier Legette

Sadly, things have not gone to plan for Xavier Legette. The good news is that Tetairoa McMillan has been so good that it might allow the Panthers to move on. Bleacher Report's Kristopher Knox believes he's a trade candidate worth a conditional 2026 third-round pick.

"Legette has also experienced a sophomore slump, which is significant because he wasn't particularly impressive as a rookie," Knox wrote. "The Panthers used a first-round pick on the South Carolina product, but they might be talked into moving him."

But the most damning indictment is what all Panthers fans were thinking. "It may not be a coincidence that Carolina had its best game of the season, a 30-0 romp over the Atlanta Falcons, with Legette out of the lineup," Knox said.

Bryce Young is very comfortable throwing to McMillan, and Knox believes Hunter Renfrow and Brycen Tremayne are both "more reliable" secondary targets for the QB as well. When Jalen Coker comes back, there will be even less action for Legette.

Legette does not have good tape, but he has good physical assets, so some teams (Knox listed the Dallas Cowboys and Cleveland Browns as options) would be interested in the upside. Plus, since he's on a rookie deal with a fifth-year option, the value might actually be pretty strong.

It remains to be seen if the Panthers are going to do anything about Legette. He's been really bad, but they seem to all truly believe in him, from head coach to quarterback. But the longer his struggles go on, the harder it will be to justify trotting him out there.

Should he slide down the depth chart, he could easily end up on the trade block since the Panthers wouldn't need a first-round bust as WR4 since that makes virtually no impact.