Healthy scratch Jimmy Horn Jr. can't possibly do any worse than Xavier Legette

Through two games, Jimmy Horn Jr. has been a healthy scratch for the Carolina Panthers. Not that Xavier Legette playing is why Horn isn't (because Legette is near the top of the depth chart), but Legette has played in both games and been given 19 targets. He has eight receiving yards.

He set a record for lack of production on Sunday, becoming the first WR to have eight targets and record negative yardage. The Legette experiment has so far been a complete and total bust, and it makes no sense to keep feeding him the ball. It might be time to get Horn Jr. active and in the games.

Jimmy Horn Jr a healthy scratch through 2 games so our WR2 could have 8 targets for -2 receiving yards 😀 pic.twitter.com/KPObe8r0d5
— Keep Purring Podcast (Ben) (@KeepPurringBen) September 15, 2025

Legette has done absolutely nothing so far. He's big and fast, but he has not been able to use that for any sort of advantage. Horn Jr. is decidedly not big, but he's fast, too, so it's more than worth seeing if those touches might not be better served with Horn than Legette.

On Sunday, Dave Canales called a jet sweep and screen for Legette on back-to-back plays. They went for zero yards and -2. It's not crazy to think that those could've been better with Horn Jr. in the lineup.

If nothing else, it is really hard to imagine Horn doing worse with those touches. He's faster and shiftier, which makes him the ideal jet sweep candidate. Screens would be smarter with him, too. But instead, he sits on the bench.

It's not really plausible to think that Legette and Horn would ever be swapped out. Legette, a former first-round pick, isn't going to be healthy scratched, but that shouldn't preclude Horn from getting some burn.

Sep 14, 2025; Glendale, Arizona, USA; Carolina Panthers wide receiver Xavier Legette (17) reaches for the ball during the fourth quarter against the Arizona Cardinals against the Arizona Cardinals at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images | Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images

David Moore isn't playing much, so it might be worth sitting him down in Week 3, activating Horn, and just seeing what he can do. As mentioned, it literally cannot be much worse than Legette's production.

The Panthers don't need that player to be a WR1 because they have Tetairoa McMillan, but they do need some sort of positive production. Legette's targets and touches are wasted, and who knows? They might not be with Horn. It's time to find out.

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