Exclusive: Xavier Legette has high hopes, lots of confidence for 2025 Panthers

Xavier Legette enters his second year with a few questions. Where will he be on the Carolina Panthers depth chart? Does the arrival of Tetairoa McMillan spell doom? Can he improve on a rookie season that saw 497 yards in 16 games? Those questions aren't bothering Legette, though, who spoke with Panthers on SI on behalf of Lidl USA. He's amped for the season and is expecting himself and the team to be better.

Xavier Legette talks Dave Canales, Bryce Young, and more

This year, Xavier Legette has much more competition than he did last year. Not only did the Panthers select Tetairoa McMillan, but they brought in Hunter Renfrow, picked Jimmy Horn Jr. late in the draft, and added some UDFAs to compete.

That added competition and limited room in the WR room doesn't hurt Legette, though. "We all helping each other. We all trying to make each other better. Things I can do can maybe help them, and things they can do can help me, so it just goes hand in hand.

He once again praised the selection of Tetairoa McMillan eighth overall, despite there being more competition and the Panthers following up his first-round selection with another WR. "Oh man, I feel like that was a great pick for us," he said. "Jimmy Horn is also a great pick, and man, the other guys in the room, they're great receivers as well."

Of course, he's referring a lot to vets like Hunter Renfrow and Adam Thielen. He's spent one year with Thielen as his teammate and a few weeks with Renfrow. "You can learn a lot from those guys, man. They always telling us things that can help us within our game," the former South Carolina product said. "We even can critique them as well. Like if we feel like they could have done something different, they still listen to us as well, so it's good to have those guys in the room."

Legette got a firsthand look at Bryce Young's 2024 resurgence, and he will be instrumental to the continued growth of Young and the evolution of Carolina's offense. Legette believes they'll be as good, if not better, this year. "I think we're just going to carry that over from last year to this year," he proclaimed.

That should concern Carolina's 2025 opponents, and Legette offered up a warning. "I feel like we're going to be a team that's going to walk up on folks, they're going to be a little nervous about us," he said.

It's not just Legette's second year. It's his coach's, too. Dave Canales became a head coach for the first time last season, so they're both doing this together. Canales started as a WR coach with the Seattle Seahawks, though, a beginning that helps him with Legette and the rest of the wide receivers.

Dec 15, 2024; Charlotte, North Carolina, USA; Carolina Panthers wide receiver Xavier Legette (17) during pregame warmups against the Dallas Cowboys at Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images | Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

"At practice, he walks around and he comes to our individuals. He tells us a little. He gives us a little insight of what he knows as well, so I mean, it's good," Legette said. Known for his positivity, Legette revealed that Canales isn't afraid to change his demeanor for players. "He's got something to him, too, though, man. Like, if he needs to bring it out, he'll let you know. He presents it a little different," he added.

In year two, Legette just wants to get better. He's not concerned with recording more yards or touchdowns. "The main thing for me is just make this year better than last year, man. That's really the only thing. I feel like as long as I'm progressing, I'm going in the right direction," he said. "Just be able to follow out on the plays that I missed last year. If I can make them plays, you know, obviously the yards are going to come within that. So, man, just catch everything that's coming my way."

How is he going about that? Legette is working on using his hands to catch the ball instead of bringing it in for a body catch, which sometimes costs NFL wide receivers. As for the team, Legette wants them to make the playoffs and try to get to the Super Bowl, so he has lofty goals for himself and the team.

Legette has partnered with Lidl US to promote burgers and chicken for the summer. He's specifically working with them on their Butcher's Specialty line. Notably, last year, the wideout went viral for saying he eats raccoon. Lidl's new collection with Legette doesn't include that meat, but that hasn't changed things for him.

"That's something that's regular, so I mean, I've been eating things in this sense, but the raccoon, I know a lot of folks think that's a little extreme, but I mean, it's all the same thing if you ask me," he said. It's all protein to Legette, who said that was a big piece of his diet as an NFL player.

He admitted he doesn't have a daily caloric intake "etched out" like other athletes might, but he's not eating lightly as he preps for the next NFL season. "I eat a good amount of food. I mean, I don't eat no baby plates," Legette said.

The wide receiver's final message to opponents for 2025? "We just got to show the world." Despite winning seven games over the last two seasons, things in Carolina and for Legette are looking up.

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