This is what we’ve been waiting for, fantasy football enthusiasts. The NFL Draft is under way, and we finally get to see where the rookie prospects are going to launch their professional careers. And NFL Draft landing spots allow us to start to zero in on fantasy football and dynasty rookie draft pick values. Here, we break down WR Xavier Legette and his fit with the Carolina Panthers.
Throughout the draft, we’ll take a closer look at fantasy-relevant prospects, giving you an overview of their strengths and weaknesses, and assessing their fantasy value in both redraft and dynasty formats.
Let’s dig in.
- 2024 Dynasty Fantasy Football Draft Kit
- Dynasty Rookie Draft Simulator
- DBro’s Dynasty Rookie Draft Primers
- 2024 NFL Draft Guide
Fantasy Football Rookie Draft Outlook
Fitz’s Fantasy Football Outlook
WR Xavier Legette of South Carolina will make a short trip north to begin his professional career after being drafted by the Carolina Panthers with the final pick of the first round. The Panthers traded up with the Bills for the right to select Legette.
Legette might be the toughest evaluation of any wide receiver in this draft class. He’s a sculpted 6-1 and 221 pounds, with extraordinary athleticism. He ran a 4.39 at the combine, giving him a 98th percentile speed score, per PlayerProfiler.com. Legette also has a 40-inch vertical jump and posted a Relative Athletic Score. Legette’s speed and athleticism shows up on film. He’s dangerous after the catch, and he has a good pair of hands, too.
It’s Legette’s college production profile that raises questions. During his first four seasons at South Carolina, he was an afterthought in the Gamecocks’ offense. In his fourth year, he had 18 catches for 167 yards. But Legette exploded as a fifth-year senior, with 71 catches for 1,255 yards and seven touchdowns in 12 games.
Xavier Legette played quarterback as a senior in high school, so it’s understandable that things didn’t click for him right away as a college wide receiver. But do we trust a player who didn’t break out until his fifth college season? The 23-year-old Legette is also a somewhat underaged prospect, which might be a turnoff for some dynasty managers.
Carolina isn’t an optimal landing spot for Legette. Diontae Johnson, whom the Panthers signed in the offseason, figures to be the Panthers’ lead receiver, and Carolina is likely to have a low-octane passing game overall. The Panthers had 3,245 passing yards last year, fewest in the league. Even with significant improvement from second-year QB Bryce Young, the Panthers aren’t likely to have a prolific passing attack in 2024.
On the bright side, Legette could ascend Carolina’s WR depth chart quicky if he can make a smooth adjustment to the NFL. Adam Thielen turns 34 in August, and Jonathan Mingo didn’t show much as a rookie.
In dynasty, I have Legette ranked WR10 among rookies and WR50 overall. Expect him to come off the board early in the second round of 1QB rookie drafts and in the mid-to-late second round of superflex drafts.
Xavier Legette’s predraft FantasyPros Expert Consensus ranking was WR82 in half-point PPR formats, and he had a predraft Underdog best-ball ADP of WR72. I have Legette ranked WR77 for redraft.
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Thor’s NFL Draft Profile & Player Comp
Xavier Legette | South Carolina
6010/221 | RAS: 9.9
Comp: David Boston
Big, well-built receiver with inside/outside versatility. Longtime special-teamer who broke out in 2023 with a 71-1,255-7 line – he’d never posted more than 167 receiving yards in his four seasons previous to that on campus. This means he’s about to become the first WR since Velus Jones to go in the top three rounds despite never topping 500 receiving yards over the first four years in college.
Legette, fortunately, is blessed with very good hands – he spears balls outside his frame and will fish worm-burners off the turf. Last season, Legette dropped only two balls on 97 targets. He’s a springy athlete for his size with solid feet. Acrobatic high-point jump-ball guy. Has a good feel for working the sidelines and keeping his feet inside the chalk while going high for balls.
He has a knack for not losing momentum while turning upfield after a catch, which helps maximize YAC opportunities. This is key, because Legette is surprisingly not a tackle-breaking machine, despite his muscular frame. This is because he’s an easy target as a north-south athlete who doesn’t easily change directions.
Another odd part of his profile, for a worker bee-type: Legette is a disinterested run blocker. With even a dollop of effort, he should be at minimum passable in this phase considering his frame. But it’s worth mentioning that he didn’t give it last year.
Legette profiles as a solid NFL No. 2 boundary WR. He brings with him a wealth of experience on various special teams units from his first four years on campus, so he’ll give you a core special-teamer from Day 1.
Check out more NFL Draft profiles and player comps from Thor in our 2024 NFL Draft Guide
Dynasty Rookie Draft Rankings
Our analysts provide their latest rookie draft rankings below. And also check out our expert consensus dynasty rookie draft rankings!
More Dynasty Rookie Draft Advice
- DBro’s Dynasty Rookie Draft Primers
- DBro’s Top 50 Rankings & Player Notes
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