Xavier Legette #17 of the Carolina Panthers makes a touchdown pass against Clark Phillips III #22 of the Atlanta Falcons (Photo by Matt Kelley/Getty Images)
Carolina Panthers wide receiver Xavier Legette is ready to have a better season in 2025.
The 2024 first-round draft pick and former All-SEC selection is well aware that his rookie season wasn’t great, with drops (seven) being an issue.
“Turn them negatives I had last year into positives this year, and make this year better than last year,” said Legette in a one-on-one interview with RG when asked what he needs to do better this season.
The 6-foot-3, 227-pound wide receiver has all of the physical talent to be a go-to receiver in the NFL. In fact, quarterback Bryce Young felt the same way, considering he targeted Legette a team-high 84 times last season. That was 22 more times than the next-closest receiver, Adam Thielen (62 targets).
While Legette led the team in receptions, he only caught the ball 49 times. That was for 497 receiving yards (10.1 yards per reception) and four touchdowns.
Legette says he looked up to Odell Beckham Jr. while growing up — the former three-time Pro Bowl wide receiver who once posted three consecutive 1,300-yard seasons with the New York Giants at the start of his NFL career.
However, Legette and Beckham Jr. are two completely different receivers, with Beckham standing at 5-foot-11 and 200 pounds. Legette says “that changed” as he started to outgrow his role model.
“I used to mold my game after Odell Beckham,” said Legette.
“But as I got a little older, I just kept growing. I kind of realized I’m not the same size as him and we don’t move the same — that changed.”
Building a Connection
As the Panthers enter a pivotal season in 2025, the connection between Legette and Young will have to continue to improve for them to take that next step.
“It’s great, man,” said Legette. “We’re both learning, he’s a young quarterback. Last year was my first year. So we’re both learning, getting a better understanding of each other, spending more time with each other, trying to get that connection — it’s already there. It’s just going to continue to grow.”
Young is facing a pivotal season himself as he enters his third year. The former No. 1 overall pick will be tasked with continuing to show the growth that he displayed in the second half of last season. After he was initially benched early in the season, the 23-year-old quarterback showed the potential to be a franchise quarterback, throwing 15 touchdowns against just seven interceptions while taking far fewer sacks than he did during his rookie season.
During Young’s rookie season, he took 62 sacks, the second-highest mark in the NFL. His sack rate declined from 10.5% to just 7.0% last season.
Young will be expected to prove that over an entire season, especially with Dave Canales — who is well-known for his ability to coach quarterbacks — entering his second year.
“He’s cool, calm and collected,” said Young. “If it’s going wrong or if it’s going the right way, he’s going to be the same guy. He’s going to let you know what he feels like, what he likes. You have to listen to the quarterback. He’s open ears if you got something that you want to tell him as well. If he feels like it’s going to work, he’s going to let you know; if he feels like it isn’t going to work, he’ll let you know.”
Eyes on the Playoffs
Considering the Panthers play in one of the weaker divisions in the NFL, Carolina making strides — and potentially competing for a playoff spot — isn’t out of the question. The Panthers went 4-8 with Young as the starting quarterback and lost one-possession games to the Philadelphia Eagles, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Kansas City Chiefs — all playoff teams.
Running back Chuba Hubbard has indicated his objective of wanting the Panthers to emerge as a playoff team this season, a sentiment that Legette shares. Carolina hasn’t made it to the playoffs or had a winning season since 2017.
The addition of rookie wideout Tetairoa McMillan — this year’s first-round pick — will hopefully help the Panthers in achieving that goal.
“He moves great getting in and out of routes,” said Legette. “He sits in with his heels down. He’s great people. His catch radius is crazy. He can do a little bit of everything.”
Although both are first-round draft picks at the wide receiver position, Legette says the two have a great relationship and talk regularly.
Legette echoes the same sentiment as his teammate Hubbard, saying his objective is to lead the Panthers to the playoffs this season — and maybe even a Super Bowl.
“We win the regular season, and once we get to the playoffs, we’re trying to win that as well, then get to that Super Bowl,” said Legette.
DJ Siddiqi
