Panthers Appear To Be Leaning Towards Decision on WR3 Competition

One receiver fits what Carolina's offense wants to do most

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Training camp is underway, as the Carolina Panthers get ready for the 2026 season. One piece of every NFL training camp is positional battles. Carolina started training camp with multiple extremely important competitions.

The most important of all was the left tackle battle between free-agent-signed Rasheed Walker and first-round draft pick Monroe Freeling. That competition is likely over, since starting RT Taylor Moton is out indefinitely due to blood clots, resulting in Freeling sliding to RT.

Now with that competition seemingly over, the biggest question mark for this Panthers offense is who will start at the WR3 spot. That competition is held between third-year receiver Xavier Legette and 2026 third-round pick Chris Brazzell II, out of Tennessee.

Legette was a former first-round pick in 2024 and, up to this point, has been underwhelming. Since that's been the case, Carolina had to add some reinforcements and found a downfield threat receiver in Brazzell. So far in training camp, Brazzell has been a huge talking point.

Dave Canales On Why Chris Brazzell II Fits Panthers Offense

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Speaking with the media after training camp, Panthers head coach Dave Canales gave insight into why Brazzell will open up Carolina's offense. When talking about Panthers WR1 Tetairoa McMillan, Canales explained how Brazzell will complement Carolina's blue chipper at receiver.

Canales said, "Chris Brazzell gives us the opportunity to move him (McMillan) inside. We can pop Tmac inside, put Chris at the single. When you have someone that tall and fast sitting on the single side with a one-on-one matchup, that gives us an advantage and creates a little bit of space inside."

Canales: Chris Brazzell’s size and speed will allow Panthers to use Tetairoa McMillan more in the slot this year. pic.twitter.com/OAfmApyR2o

— Joe Person (@josephperson) July 24, 2026

Canales made a point of bringing up Brazzell when talking about McMillan and how he can thrive most while in the slot. This was the vision that felt most likely when Brazzell was brought in: to give Carolina an element to the passing game that they frankly haven't had.

Brazzell will be able to stretch the field for Carolina, and Bryce Young thrived in throwing the deep ball last year, posting a 38.9% big-time throw rate in 2025.

What This Means For Xavier Legette

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Legette has had a frustrating first two seasons with Carolina, to say the least. If Brazzell does solidify his spot for the final starting WR position, then Legette could be moved later this season.

This won't mean that Legette won't see the field at all for Carolina; he'll still get plenty of reps. There just has to be a significant rise in reliability and production for this experiment to continue, though.