RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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See the full story · 1 sourcesWhen the Carolina Panthers moved up to take Xavier Legette with the 32nd overall pick of the 2024 NFL Draft, one had to expect that he would eventually become their top wideout.
As a rookie, Legette was relegated to a No. 2 role behind veteran Adam Thielen, who had a sensational connection going with quarterbacl Bryce Young at the time. Nevertheless, Thielen's career was winding down, and it was not unreasonable to believe Legette would become Carolina's No. 1 no later than the 2025.
Instead, Legette put in a disappointing second seaosn after a somewhat promising, but spotty rookie campaign. He caught just 35 of his 64 targets, totaling 363 yards and three touchdowns.
Legette hit rock bottom in Week 2, as he became the first wide receiver in NFL history to total negative receiving yardage (-2) on at least eight targets. He never really recovered, and only had two strong games all year—in Week 5 against the New York Jets (92 yards, one touchdown) and Week 9 against the Atlanta Falcons (83 yards, one touchdown).
Heading into his third season in the league, Legette is considered one of the bigger busts in recent years. We now have an official standing for him, courtesy of Mike Renner at CBS Sports—who ranked all 191 first-round draft picks going back to 2020.
Legette came in at No. 158 on his list. Renner writes:
"A sad fact of the Panthers' draft track record this decade is that they've made an NFL-leading five top-eight picks over that span. Their only non-premium pick was also one of the worst first-rounders in terms of true impact, as Xavier Legette has already been relegated to backup status."
While Legette's issues have been frustrating, Young's slow development has been much more costly for the Panthers. He was ranked just No. 143 on Renner's list.
Young finally started flashing elite potential last season, though. And as of yet, we haven't seen that from Legette, who hasn't had a 100-yard game since he was drafted.
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This article originally appeared on Panthers Wire: Panthers WR ranked among NFL's worst 1st-round picks since 2020
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