ESPN writer picks second-year Panthers WR as key player to watch at camp

Dave Canales’s Panthers look to pick up where it left off late last season. Carolina would surely benefit via a better showing from their 2024 first-round pick.

Dec 15, 2024; Charlotte, North Carolina, USA; Carolina Panthers wide receiver Xavier Legette (17) with the ball as Dallas Cowboys cornerback Amani Oruwariye (27) defefends in the first quarter at Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-Imagn Images | Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

The rookies reported on Monday and the veterans arrived on Tuesday. It’s the start of training camp for the Carolina Panthers who are looking to build off last season's strong finish. The club won four of its final nine games after a 1-7 start in 2004—which was preceded by a 2-15 campaign the previous year.

The Carolina Panthers have now participated in 31 NFL drafts. In each of the past two years, the team used a first-round pick on the wide receiver position—a franchise first. There's been a lot of anticipation regarding the eighth overall pick in this past April's draft in the form of University of Arizona wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan. He put up big-time numbers in his final two seasons with the Wildcats, and figures to give quarterback Bryce Young a big-play presence.

However, let’s go back to the previous year when general manager Dan Morgan traded back up into the first round. They obtained the 32nd overall pick and grabbed University of South Carolina product Xavier Legette. The good news was that the young wideout led Carolina in catches, albeit with a so-so 49 receptions.

Xavier Legette is a player to watch at Panthers’ training camp

The bad news? “Young needs Legette to be more consistent,” explained ESPN’s David Newton, “after a rookie season marred by a 14.0 drop percentage that ranked third-worst in the league. The biggest drop was a potential game-winner against eventual Super Bowl champ Philadelphia. He worked this offseason on catching the ball more with his hands than his body. The rookie McMillan is challenging him to be better, too.”

Along with McMillan and 2025 sixth-round speedster Jimmy Horn Jr., Morgan added former Raiders’ Pro Bowler Hunter Renfrow this offseason to Carolina’s wide receiver room. Legette should benefit from his arrival, as well as the veteran presence of Adam Thielen.

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