Former South Carolina receiver Xavier Legette said recently that the Panthers had told him they hoped he’d make it to the second round of the 2024 draft.
As it turns out, Carolina didn’t want to wait that long.
The Panthers traded up one spot to No. 32 overall to Legette, concluding the first round.
Legette, 23, is from the Carolinas and will now get to stay there to start his pro career.
He was a second-team All-SEC selection in 2023. He led the team in receiving, finishing with 71 catches for 1,255 yards with seven touchdowns.
In 53 games with 32 starts at South Carolina, Legette tallied 113 catches for 1,678 yards with 12 touchdowns. He also served as a kick returner, averaging 26.4 yards on 29 attempts in his career. He had a 100-yard kick return for a touchdown in 2022.
The Panthers acquired the No. 32 overall pick from the Bills. Buffalo had previously swapped spots in the first round with Kansas City.
The Bills received No. 33 and No. 141 for the Panthers’ No. 32 and No. 200.
The Cowboys have many needs as they enter the first day of the draft with seven picks, including 24th overall.
If one of the top offensive tackles remains on the board, it seems likely the Cowboys will select one. They lost longtime starting left tackle Tyron Smith to the Jets in free agency.
But, if not, they could look to trade down since they also have a serious need for a running back and a center.
Jane Slater of NFL Media reports that if the two offensive linemen the Cowboys “love” aren’t there, they could trade down and “pick up running back Jonathon Brooks and get a tackle in the second and possibly a center in the third.”
She mentioned Graham Barton and Tyler Guyton as the tackles to keep an eye on as well as Amarius Mims if he falls.
The betting lines do not favor a running back going in the first round, so, in the scenario where Barton, Guyton and Mims are already off the board, it could be a trade out of the first round for the Cowboys.
Slater adds that the Cowboys’ biggest concern is the Eagles taking Brooks at No. 53, with the Cowboys picking at No. 56. The Eagles signed veteran Saquon Barkley earlier in the offseason.
Brooks, a University of Texas product, tore his ACL in a game against TCU on Nov. 11 after running for 1,139 yards and 10 touchdowns in 10 games.
The Cowboys, who are talking to Ezekiel Elliott about a reunion, currently have no starting running back on their roster. They signed veteran Royce Freeman and also have Rico Dowdle, Deuce Vaughn, Malik Davis and Snoop Conner on the roster at running back.
The Panthers aren’t scheduled to make any picks during the first round on Thursday night, but they have two picks early in the second round and there’s a strong feeling that they will be adding a wide receiver with one of them.
Current members of the receiving corps have different reactions to that possibility. Adam Thielen saw the Vikings add multiple first-round wideouts during his time in Minnesota and he said on Wednesday that he welcomes the chance to build a relationship with a new teammate that can help them succeed.
“There’s just been a lot of guys that we’ve drafted high and high expectations and I really enjoy that part of the game to really just help them where I need to help them,” Thielen said, via the team’s website. “I think that’s the most important thing in anything you’re doing. It’s building those relationships first and then you can be a mentor. A lot of people want to be the mentor first and it’s like, no, no, just build a relationship, earn that trust and then be a mentor and then you can kind of speak life and football into someone when you have that relationship.”
Ihmir Smith-Marsette was not a first-rounder when he joined Thielen on the Vikings in 2021 and he’s bounced around the league over his first three seasons. He earned a role as a receiver and punt returner in Carolina last year and is less enthusiastic about the prospect of new blood in the position group than his more experienced teammate.
“I take it personally, I won’t lie to you,” Smith-Marsette said. “I’m tired of getting people put in front of me, put in front of me, put in front of me, of course, I get annoyed at that. But I mean, it’s just football at the end of the day and I’m going to show that I belong in this league again . . . it adds fuel to the fire cause it’s like, I got to go out there and prove myself.”
Smith-Marsette will likely have to get comfortable with new faces and the Panthers will benefit if the next few days lead to a rising tide across the entire group in 2024.
Former South Carolina wide receiver Xavier Legette said this week that the Panthers told him they’re “really hoping I can make it the second round” and that they plan to take him with the 33rd overall pick on Friday night.
Legette’s words might have led to a sense of deja vu from other prospects who expect to hear their name called this week. Panthers head coach Dave Canales was asked about Legette’s comments on Wednesday and he confirmed that he said that to the wideout. Canales then said Legette had plenty of company when it came to hearing those things from the team.
“Oh yeah, I said that to him, and 50 other guys,” Canales said, via Darin Gantt of the team’s website.
Legette says he’s felt a growing relationship with the Panthers over the course of the pre-draft process, but that’s no guarantee that they’ll actually be taking him given the opportunity. And it will work out well for Legette if they don’t even get the chance because that will mean the wideout is a first-round pick.
Wide receiver Diontae Johnson wasn’t on the Panthers last season, but he knows the year did not play out the way anyone in Carolina hoped.
The top of the list of things that didn’t pan out was quarterback Bryce Young. The first overall pick of last year’s draft failed to catch fire during his rookie season and the team is hoping that a change in head coaches and an offseason spent bolstering the roster sends things in a different direction.
Johnson fits into the heart of those plans. The Panthers traded cornerback Donte Jackson to the Steelers in exchange for the wideout and Johnson said on Tuesday that he knows he’s in Carolina to make Young better and “help him grow.”
“Just a guy that can get open, just give him a sense of comfort when he’s back there knowing he has a guy that can get open anywhere on the field,’' Johnson said, via David Newton of ESPN.com. “That’s what I’m here to do, to make plays.’'
Johnson is in the final year of his contract and said he’s “not worried about a contract extension now.” Forging a strong connection with Young would help on that front, so it makes sense that it is the top priority at this point in the offseason.
