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By Rowan Fisher-Shotton
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Bryce Young is playing for a new contract, and Chuba Hubbard is trying to hold off former second-round pick Jonathan Brooks for the starting running back job. But both are likely to be back with the Carolina Panthers next year regardless of how 2026 plays out. The same can't be said for Xavier Legette.
Legette's rookie season in 2024 was underwhelming, to say the least. He finished with just 497 receiving yards and four touchdowns on 49 catches, averaging 10.1 yards per catch. That's not what fans expect from a first-round wide receiver.
Yet, 2025 was even worse. The former South Carolina star finished with just 35 catches for 363 yards and three TDs across 16 games. That was well behind rookie Tetairoa McMillan, who won Offensive Rookie of the Year with 1,014 yards and seven TDs, as well as former undrafted free agent Jalen Coker, who ended with 394 yards and three TDs in just 11 games.
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Despite playing nearly 70% of snaps on the year, Legette posted a catch rate of just 54.7%, among the lowest in the NFL, and finished with an overall PFF grade of 52.6, the third-lowest grade among qualified wide receivers.
2026 might be Legette's last chance to show he belongs in Carolina's wide receiver room.
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McMillan is the unquestioned WR1 heading into year two, and Carolina just signed Coker to a three-year, $35 million extension. On top of that, the team added receiver John Metchie III in free agency and used their third-round pick on Tennessee's Chris Brazzell II, who, at 6-foot-4 with a 4.37 40-time, might have been one of the biggest steals of the 2026 NFL Draft.
Legette has already acknowledged the pressure he faces this upcoming season. "I can't have another year like 2025," he said in June. He's reportedly improved his conditioning and appears ready to take on the pressure of a potential make-or-break year.
He doesn't need to be the Panthers' No. 1 receiver, even if that's what he was drafted to be, but he is at least expected to be a reliable third option next to McMillan and Coker. With the team's receiver room now much deeper than it was a year ago, if Legette gets beaten out by Brazzell or Metchie, this could be his last year in Carolina.
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