Xavier Legette is giving the Panthers something they have not always gotten from him: steady, repeatable production.
On Sunday, in the rain and the mist behind Bank of America Stadium, the Carolina wide receiver stacked together another strong practice and continued the kind of offseason run that has carried into the first three days of training camp. One of the biggest moments came when Bryce Young lofted a deep ball toward Legette, who battled through tight coverage from reserve cornerback Robert Rochelle and came down with what was ruled a touchdown by the far-side referee. The ball seemed to hit the ground as Legette rolled over, but he quickly gathered it back in and held on.
Even with that detail, the larger point stood: Legette keeps flashing.
Panthers coach Dave Canales said Legette had at least three big-play catches Sunday and praised the way the receiver has translated his spring work into camp.
"Yeah, just a great carryover from the spring," Canales told reporters after practice. "At this point now, X knows the system. That's the cool part, as we bring free agents, as we bring rookies in, they see X, and he knows how to do it all, whether it's in the base game plan, third downs, nuances in the red zone, all the different things.
"He knows how to do it, but just matching it with his consistency. He looks fast, he looks powerful. He's having a great camp so far, as we get started, and I'm excited to see where he goes from here."
That kind of backing matters for Legette, who entered camp trying to hold off speedy rookie Chris Brazzell II for the WR3 job. His first two seasons have been uneven, and last year the mistakes piled up enough that he started losing snaps in the second half.
Legette, the Panthers’ 2024 first-round pick, played nearly 70 percent of the offense’s snaps in 2025 and finished with 35 catches for 363 yards and three touchdowns. His 54.7 percent catch rate and 52.6 PFF.com overall grade both reflected a season that never really found a clean rhythm, with that grade ranking No. 79 out of 81 qualified wideouts.
At the same time, the room around him kept getting tighter. Tetairoa McMillan became the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year.
Jalen Coker developed into a productive WR2 and landed a three-year contract extension. Then the Panthers added Brazzell in the draft and signed John Metchie III in free agency, making it clear Legette had to prove he could match his draft status.
That pressure was real enough that league insiders floated the idea that he could be traded or released.
For now, though, Canales’ support and Legette’s play suggest he’s not going anywhere. The question is whether he can keep it going long enough to earn a fifth season on his rookie deal.
Sunday offered another hint. During a 7-on-7 period, Legette worked over the middle and snagged an on-the-run throw from Young, helping the offense answer after the defense controlled the first two days of camp.
"The defense was pretty dominant th first two days, but a good response by Bryce and the guys," Canales said.
And even on the play that could have gone the other way, Legette still looked like a receiver making a habit of winning his reps.
In Other News...
Kenny Pickett Is Putting Carolina In A Tough Spot Behind Bryce Young
Carolinas quarterback room looked different when the offseason began, with the Panthers moving on from Andy Dalton and bringing in Kenny Pickett, Will Grier and undrafted rookie Haynes King to sit behind Bryce Young. Griers retirement already thinned the group, and now the team is getting a clearer look at how the depth chart might settle once camp work starts to matter more than offseason plans.
Picketts training camp has not given Carolina much comfort, and that has opened the door for King to at least make this interesting. The Panthers are still sorting out what they want behind Young, and if Pickett does not steady himself soon, the conversation could shift from simply finding a backup to deciding whether Carolina needs to keep an extra quarterback around at all. [Read more 🡒]
Panthers Suddenly Face A Huge Camp Test Up Front
The Panthers were supposed to use the start of camp to get a head start, opening early because of their Hall of Fame Game appearance. Instead, the first real test up front has arrived almost immediately, with the offensive line already being reshuffled before the pads even come on in earnest. Carolina has had to adjust around Taylor Moton and the left side as well, turning what should have been a routine summer ramp-up into a live evaluation of depth and adaptability.
Rookie Monroe Freeling has been thrust into the mix on the right side, while Rasheed Walker was brought in to help stabilize the left tackle spot after Ikem Ekwonus injury. For a team trying to build continuity, the challenge is obvious: the Panthers are now asking new pieces to settle in fast, and the early weeks of camp will tell them a lot about whether this front can hold together when the regular season arrives. [Read more 🡒]
Panthers Just Made Their Biggest Pass Rush Bet Yet
Carolina spent the early part of the offseason trying to solve a problem that showed up in plain sight all year: the pass rush never consistently threatened opposing quarterbacks. After finishing last in pressure rate and near the bottom of the sack leaderboard in 2025, the Panthers went looking for a difference-maker and found one in Jaelan Phillips, the former Eagles edge rusher whose arrival instantly changes the conversation around that front.
Phillips move to Charlotte also says plenty about how the Panthers sold the opportunity, not just the money. He pointed to the contract as a major factor in choosing Carolina, and the teams willingness to make him one of the biggest investments of the free-agent cycle shows how urgent the need felt. The question now is whether the Panthers finally have the kind of rusher who can turn a glaring weakness into something much harder for opponents to plan around. [Read more 🡒]