NFL insider is worried about Xavier Legette's place with Panthers

In Sunday’s loss at Arizona, Carolina got a solid showing from its 2025 first-round pick. That wasn’t the case when it came to its 2024 first-round choice.

Sep 7, 2025; Jacksonville, Florida, USA; Carolina Panthers wide receiver Xavier Legette (17) warms up prior to a game against the Jacksonville Jaguars at EverBank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Morgan Tencza-Imagn Images | Morgan Tencza-Imagn Images

It’s Bleacher Report’s latest edition of winners and losers after another week of action in the NFL. Obviously, the subject matter here is the Arizona Cardinals’ 27-22 victory over the too little, too late Carolina Panthers. Cardinals’ defensive end Calais Campbell was deemed the winner in his team’s five-point victory. At the other end of the spectrum was Panthers’ second-year wide receiver Xavier Legette.

“In the second half,” explained Brent Sobleski, “the Panthers offense showed signs of life. (Bryce) Young made big-time throws to rookie wideout Tetairoa McMillan, slot receiver Hunter Renfrow and tight end Ja’Tavion Sanders. Yet, for consecutive weeks, Legette has been a no-show in Carolina's aerial attack. Against the Cardinals, he only converted one of his eight targets into a reception, and it went for minus two yards.”

Carolina Panthers wide receiver Xavier Legette (17) leaps over Jacksonville Jaguars cornerback Jourdan Lewis (2) during the second quarter of an NFL football matchup at EverBank Stadium, Sunday, Sept. 7, 2025 in Jacksonville, Fla. [Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union] | Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

A rough start to the season for Panthers’ WR Xavier Legette

“McMillan has established himself as the Panthers' go-to pass-catcher,” added Sobleski. “With a two-touchdown performance on Sunday, Renfrow may have leapfrogged Legette in the pecking order, which doesn’t bode well for the 2024 first-rounder's outlook in Carolina.”

A year ago, the 32nd overall pick in the 2024 NFL draft actually led Dave Canales’s team with 49 receptions, and was second on the club with four touchdown grabs. However, those catches added up to a mere 497 yards, hence a disappointing 10.1 yards per reception. In 16 games during his rookie season, he was targeted 84 times, and finished with a mediocre 58.3 catch percentage.

In Week 1, Legette saw seven passes his way and finished with only three catches for 10 yards. All told, in two games in 2025, the former University of South Carolina standout has been targeted a total of 15 times, and has four catches for eight yards. His receptions, respectively, have covered minus-1, nine, two, and minus-2 yards.

There’s an opportunity for Legette and the 0-2 Panthers to redeem themselves this week vs. the Falcons in the home opener for Canales’s club. It’s hard to imagine the young wideout's play can be any worse than it has been just two weeks into this season.

- Enjoy more free Panthers coverage with Carolina Panthers on SI - 

Panthers studs & duds from a frustrating Week 2 loss to the Cardinals

Takeaways from the Panthers’ heartbreaking road loss to Cardinals

Cowboys signing Panthers’ 2024 sack leader Jadeveon Clowney

2026 NFL draft: Panthers linked to difference-making star safety