Carolina Panthers WR Xavier Legette banishing ‘ghosts’ 

TROY HULL | THE CHARLOTTE POST

Carolina Panthers receiver Xavier Legette has impressed coaches with his focus on consistency in training camp.

Xavier Legette bumped past cornerback Corey Thornton at the line of scrimmage and broke toward the sideline for an athletic reception as Thornton tumbled to the ground.  

Later in the practice, Legette worked his way between rookie cornerback Will Lee III and safety Lathan Ransom to grab a pass, remaining alert to get both feet in bounds. 

A year ago, he might have failed to run the route at the correct depth.  

Or landed out of bounds. 

Or dropped the pass. 

Questions about Legette’s future with the Carolina Panthers dogged the 2024 first-round draft pick throughout the winter. 

Since the start of the offseason training activities and the first weeks of camp, Legette, who often works out three to four times daily, displayed a sense of professional maturity and better on-field awareness. 

Legette admitted to being haunted by what he described as previously playing “too loose.”

Making most of chance 

A staunch supporter despite a string of mental lapses last season, Panthers coach Dave Canales noticed a difference. 

“He’s really attacked that part of his game and that's something that I’ve seen him really improve on Canales said. “What I’ve seen him do is just make great plays on the boundary ... just some of those spatial plays where he can go attack the ball, find a way to get his feet down. 

“He looks explosive.”

The Panthers, who are out to repeat as NFC South champ, need Legette’s big-play potential. Demoted from WR2 in favor of Jalen Coker last fall, Legette entered the offseason as the third option, but after the addition of rookie Chris Brazzell II, most league insiders slotted Legette behind the third-round pick. 

Some listed Legette as a trade candidate. Others reported Dan Morgan would (should?) cut his first draft pick as a general manager. 

Among his most egregious mental errors last season was one that developed in a loss at Arizona when he walked back to the line of scrimmage, costing the Panthers a key possession.  

“I just can’t do stuff like that,” Legette said. “I’ve got ghosts.” 

During that Week 2 outing, Legette experienced one of the worst receiving efforts in NFL history. Ending with minus-2 receiving yards on eight targets, he became the second player in NFL history to have negative yardage on at least eight targets. Kansas City Chiefs running back Jamaal Charles collected minus-6 yards on eight targets in 2013. 

As the Panthers mounted a second-half push for the division crown, Legette’s role decreased. During the Week 18 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, he garnered a 31.4% snap share, a career low. For the season, his production dipped to 35 catches for 363 yards and three touchdowns. 

“I had a couple mishaps where I would step on the line and I was out of bounds last year,” he said. 

Back with new focus 

Following the NFC Wild Card loss to the Los Angeles Rams at Bank of America Stadium, in which Legette recorded one catch for 8 yards on four targets, he retreated home to Mullins, S.C., for rest and mental rehabilitation. 

“I learned a lot,” Legette said. “Stuff like [the effort against Arizona] can get you benched and sidelined and stuff like that, so I just can’t do stuff like that.”

As part of his new post-practice routine, Legette often works with a Jugs machine on sideline catches.  

Legette didn’t enjoy many opportunities to display his improved focus in Saturday’s preseason game at Buffalo.    

After Dave Canales said Legette likely would not dress, Legette ended up competing with the first unit for the first three series. He was not targeted. 

On the third series, Legette stepped up to execute an open-field block on a screen pass to Coker that would have picked up a first down if not for a penalty that wiped out the play. 

The Panthers play at the Jacksonville Jaguars (1-0) Friday. The teams held for a joint practice Wednesday. Both represent opportunities for Legette to continue growing into his role. 
In the offseason, Legette benefited from a series of throwing sessions with quarterback Bryce Young and several teammates, in Arizona and California.  

“We just spent that time together and I’m talking to (Young) a little more,” Legette said. “I’m just honed into the details. Everything that I was dealing with last year that I put on tape that was bad. I had never done any of that.” 

Despite last season's struggles, Legette insisted: “I ain’t never lost my confidence in any way.”  

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