Dan Morgan’s Xavier Legette Comments Sadly Imply No Imminent Trade

Last April, Carolina’s Dan Morgan passed on a much-needed edge rusher in the first round and opted for wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan with the eighth overall pick. There were 70 receptions for 1,014 yards and seven touchdowns in a season that earned him NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year honors.

As of this writing, the Panthers own the 19th overall selection on April 23. Could Dave Canales’s team be looking at using a first-round pick on a wideout for the third consecutive year? Obviously, Morgan has ruled nothing out.

Panthers’ WR Xavier Legette was the Last Pick in the First Round in 2024

Dan Morgan: We’re not going to pass up on good players and if the best player on our board is a wideout…then so be it. pic.twitter.com/tSaKP9YRZT
— Carolina Blitz (@KeepBlitzin) February 24, 2026

Let’s take the DeLorean back to April 25, 2024. Carolina did not have a first-round selection entering that evening after dealing it to the Chicago Bears the previous year in part of a deal that saw the Panthers obtain the top selection in 2023. Carolina chose quarterback Bryce Young with the pick. Now Morgan and company were back, making a deal with the Bills for the last choice in the first round in ’24.

The Panthers opted for University of South Carolina wide receiver Xavier Legette. His rookie campaign drew mixed reviews. While he led Canales’s club with 49 catches, they added up to only 497 yards (10.1 average) and four touchdowns in 16 contests. In 2025, there was another so-so showing. Legette played in 15 games and made a dozen starts. There were just 35 receptions for 363 yards (10.4 average) and only three TDs.

Xavier Legette Has Yet to Hit His Stride with the Panthers

Do the math. A total of 31 regular-season outings (25 starts) has added up to only 84 grabs (on 148 targets) for 860 yards and seven touchdowns. The latter equals McMillan’s TD total in 2025. In the playoff loss to the Rams, Legette was targeted four times and caught one pass for eight yards in the Panthers’ 34-31 setback.

The disappointing performance by the 6’3”, 227-pound wideout to date, combined with the emergence of former undrafted free agent Jalen Coker has had some speculating that Legette could be a trade candidate. Meanwhile, the Panthers’ GM appears to be sticking by his man. He says that Legette is “hungry” and spoke about the 25-year-old’s work ethic.

#Panthers general manager Dan Morgan on receiver Xavier Legette, who Morgan acknowledged has taken a lot of heat from outside the building but who has never wavered in working hard inside the building. pic.twitter.com/gbRUyvilHU
— Alex Zietlow (@alexzietlow05) February 24, 2026

It may be far too early to give up on a 2024 first-round pick. However, Coker really came on late in the season. In the club’s final five regular-season contests, he was targeted 24 times and caught 19 passes for 244 yards and three touchdowns. In the playoff loss to the Rams, he was Young’s preference with a dozen targets, snaring nine passes for 134 yards and one TD. The former Holy Cross standout and undrafted free agent may be indeed be the starter opposite McMillan in 2026.