CHARLOTTE—The Carolina Panthers have selected Xavier Legette, wide receiver from South Carolina, with the 32nd overall pick in the 2024 NFL draft. The pick came after the Panthers traded with the Buffalo Bills to move into the first round and take the local Carolina product.
The Panthers sent their 33rd and 141st picks to the Bills, in exchange for Buffalo’s spot at 32 overall and 200 overall (in the 6th round) to the Bills to move into the first round. It became clear a move might happen, as a run on receivers kicked up Thursday night. Five pass catchers had already come off the board. By taking Legette in the first round, instead of waiting until the 33rd pick in the second round, the Panthers will now have a fifth-year option on Legette’s rookie contract.
Legette spent five years with the Gamecocks, breaking out particularly in his final season. In 2023, he pulled in 71 receptions for 1,255 yards and seven touchdowns. This mark made Legette only the fifth receiver in Gamecocks history to surpass 1,000 yards, joining Sidney Rice, Alshon Jeffery, Pharoh Cooper, and Sterling Sharpe.
The receiver visited the Panthers on an official 30-visit and returned to Bank of America Stadium several more times during the draft process. Coaches have had an eye on him for months, sending a large contingent to Columbia for South Carolina’s Pro-Day in early March.
General manager Dan Morgan, in his first draft with the final say, has been notably coy about what the Panthers might want to do this weekend. This week, Coach Dave Canales was even careful to play off talk about Legette’s multiple visits with the Panthers, hoping not to tip their hand.
At the end of the day, though, Legette fit what the Panthers want in Charlotte, and now the whole world knows.
“I think it’s about just not getting playmakers for (quarterback) Bryce Young; it’s about getting playmakers for our team, for our organization,” Morgan said last week while previewing the draft. “Who’s best going to fit our team, who’s going to make plays… who’s going to put the ball in the end zone on the offensive side of the ball?
“And then them having that passion for the game, that hungry mentality, that dog mentality, and that’s what we’re looking for.”
Legette will come into a room that includes incumbent starter Adam Thielen, and newly acquired Diontae Johnson (brought in via a trade with the Pittsburgh Steelers). The unit also returned Jonathan Mingo, Ihmir Smith-Marsette, and added free agent David Moore. Yet receivers coach Rob Moore still needed a true down-field speed threat, something he now has with Legette.
Coach Dave Canales joked on Wednesday that while he’s been out and about in Charlotte in recent weeks, fans have taken to coming up to him and asking for the club to draft Legette. Now the Panthers fan base gets their wish, with Legette heading slightly north to don the process blue.