New York Giants Draft Prospect: WR Xavier Legette

Nick takes a look at a potential Day 2 option at receiver for the Giants.

Nov 18, 2023; Columbia, South Carolina, USA; South Carolina Gamecocks wide receiver Xavier Legette / Jeff Blake-USA TODAY Sports

Xavier Legette, WR

Height: 6’1
Weight: 221 lbs
Arm length: 31 ⅞”
Wingspan: 77 ½”
Hands: 9”
Class: 5th Year Senior
School: South Carolina
Stats

MEASUREMENTS

40-yard-dash: 4.39
10-yard split: 1.54
Vertical jump: 40”
Broad jump: 10’6”

A former four-star recruit out of Mullins High School in Mullins, South Carolina, where he was the 3rd graded player from the state and the 17th athlete in the 2019 recruiting cycle. Legette was a dynamic quarterback in high school. He rushed for 1,826 yards with 19 rushing touchdowns while throwing 14 touchdown passes with 887 yards during his super-senior season.

Legette never played more than 300 offensive snaps until 2023. He was just a role player in South Carolina’s offense while operating as a special teams player and a part-time kick returner. That all changed in his senior year when he was one of the top WRs in the nation.

Legette was a Senior Bowl All-American and a Third Team All-American while earning First-Team All-SEC from many media networks and Second-Team All-SEC, according to the AP and coaches. He was also a team captain in 2023, a 2023 Biletnikoff Award Semifinalist, and he was the 2023 Offensive MVP of the Gamecocks. He appeared in 53 games over five seasons with 32 starts. He attended the 2024 Reese’s Senior Bowl.

Strengths

* Good height with a muscular physique - long-legged
* Excellent athlete with good deep speed and great explosiveness
* Functional nimbleness/agility to run quick pivot routes near the LOS
* Accesses second gear and explodes into space - good acceleration
* Exceptional leaping ability combined with average arm length and slightly above-average wing span
* Excellent overall tracking/concentration
* Great ability to adjust his body in the air
* Adjusts route to create throwing window when play breaks down
--Vanderbilt 3rd & 15 Q1 7:50 35 YD TD
--Jax State 2nd & 11 Q1 12:49 18 YD REC
* Guy hangs in the air - attacks football with his strong sub-average-sized hands
* Has homerun SLANT TO THE HOUSE ability
* Clocked 21.9 MPH vs. Mississippi State Q1 9:58 3rd & 4
* Solid burst out of horizontal breaks on deep overs
* Sinks hips w/ hard outside jab to create space
* Remains controlled and deceptive up stem into his break more separation/leverage
-- Kentucky Q1 7:33, Q4 7:51
-- Vanderbilt Q2 11:08
* Creates solid overall separation in man coverage on intermediate-deep horizontal crossers
* Shields the catch point well with his body when stagnant (curls/comeback)
* Solid physicality at the breakpoint
* Great red zone threat
* A threat to win on the vertical plane - contested-catch specialist
* High points the football above the rim like a center in basketball
* Exceptional timing and control when leaping to snag football out of the air
* Acrobatic catches throughout his tape - MOSS’N ability
* Size/frame give him upside as a YAC threat
* Functional YAC ability - can leverage good lateral agility/COD to make the first man miss
* Did align in the slot 34% of the time in 2023
* Former QB with upside on trick plays
* Special teams and return upside

[View more draft prospect scouting profiles.]

Weaknesses

* Good vertical athletic ability (deep speed, lower body explosiveness) but just average laterally
* Some tightness in his lower half
* Didn’t see much of an expansive release package
* Solid overall route runner who does use deception but his
* Didn’t see much press coverage - how will he handle it in the NFL?
* Functional creating YAC, but I wanted to see more physicality with his size/frame in those areas
* Overall, not a terrible blocker, but it left some to be desired
* Angles were inconsistent, and his size suggests he should be more dominant
* Only one year of production (2023)
* Older prospect at 23 years old (Born on 01/29/2001)

Summary

Xavier Legette is a boundary wide receiver with some of the best high-pointing skills in the entire draft class. His leaping ability allows him to jump over CBs and MOSS them at the catch point like old-school Dennis Rodman nabbing boards in the nineties. He’s an exceptional vertical, straight-line, athlete with a second gear that topped out near 22 MPH last season.

He’s not deficient as a lateral athlete, but he's not nearly as dominant, and his hips have some tightness. I wish I saw more of Legette using his size to break tackles or make players miss—he only had 18 missed tackles forced in his entire career (9 in 2023). For reference, Malik Nabers had 30 in 2023 alone.

Legette will make highlight-reel catches in the NFL. He creates solid overall separation against man coverage, but he didn’t appear to have an expansive release package, and he did not face much press coverage. His age and limited production until 2023 are a concern, but his dominant 2023 tape will place him somewhere among the many WRs that will be considered on Day 2.

GRADE: 6.26

Nick Falato's Draft Grade Chart / Nick Falato

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