South Carolina receiver Xavier Legette gave away the Panthers’ plan three days before the draft, saying Carolina had promised to draft him 33rd overall if he fell into the second round. Panthers coach Dave Canales laughed off Legette’s disclosure as something he said to many prospects.
After the Panthers traded up into the first round Thursday night to draft Legette with the 32nd overall pick, Canales admitted the truth.
“We loved him. I’m not gonna sit here and lie about that,” Canales said, via Joe Person of TheAthletic.com. “But I meant what I said: There’s a lot of guys we were excited about at that area.”
Even without Legette spilling the beans, the Panthers tipped their hand by fawning over Legette. Legette said he had a feeling as far back as the Senior Bowl that the Panthers had serious interest, interest which continued through the pre-draft process.
“We had three days we had to meet with teams and each day I had to meet with the Panthers,” Legette said, via Kassidy Hill of the team website. “That’s when I realized, OK, they really want me, and then I just kept meeting me with them.”
The Panthers sent their 33rd and 141st pick to the Bills to move into the first round and take their target.
“He was our target,” General Manager Dan Morgan said. “We really liked him, and we went and got him.”
In Legette’s only season as a full-time starter, he made 71 receptions for 1,255 yards and seven touchdowns with Spencer Rattler as his quarterback.