Bryce Young and the Carolina Panthers are trending in the right direction, winning three games in a row after starting 1-3. Xavier Legette is back from his hamstring injury, too, reemerging as a serious threat outside the numbers.
Legette is currently rostered in 30.2% of ESPN leagues but only 14% of Yahoo leagues – up 6.4% and 8%, respectively. If the wideout didn’t already get scooped up on waivers in your league, is he worth adding to your bench for the rest of the season?
Is Xavier Legette healthy?
Yes, Xavier Legette is back to full strength. He missed Weeks 3 and 4 with a hamstring issue, but has played in each of Carolina’s three contests since then. Legette underwent a successful foot surgery in the offseason, which appears to be deep in his rear-view mirror. The hip injury that cost him time at the end of 2024 is also no longer an issue either.
Since Legette returned to action, the Panthers haven’t lost. It is worth noting, though, that Bryce Young is dealing with a high-ankle sprain he suffered on Sunday. If Young can’t go, Andy Dalton will suit up as Carolina’s quarterback.
Xavier Legette Fantasy Value
Legette, who the Panthers selected in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft, has already been through quite a few ups and downs in his professional career. The South Carolina product caught just 49 of 84 targets his rookie year. He didn’t do much when Young was the signal-caller early on, only breaking out once Dalton took over. Young got another shot when Dalton hurt his thumb in a car accident, and he proceeded to deliver touchdowns to Legette in back-to-back weeks. Legette averaged 6.2 targets and 3.4 receptions per game for the remainder of the season, leading Carolina in targets and receptions by year’s end. He also ranked second on the team in receiving yards and receiving touchdowns, finishing the year as WR68 overall.
Entering 2025, Legette was largely a fantasy afterthought. His ADP was all the way down at No. 176, making him WR60 on average.
Legette got seven targets in Week 1, then eight in Week 2, only to accumulate a total of 8 yards. His lone rush attempt went for 0 yards, too. The 24-year-old caught two of three targets upon his return in Week 5, though, going for 31 yards and a touchdown. Two weeks later, he torched the New York Jets for 92 yards and a touchdown on nine receptions and 11 targets.
Second-year wideout Jalen Coker made his season debut Sunday, but he only drew two targets and didn’t catch a single pass. First-round rookie Tetairoa McMillan is now the Panthers’ WR1, leaving Coker, Brycen Tremayne, Jimmy Horn and Hunter Renfrow as Legette’s most notable internal competition for WR2 reps.
On the whole this season, Legette is WR68. He is averaging 8.6 PPR fantasy points per game, but a far more respectable 12.8 since Week 5.
Is Xavier Legette worth a roster spot?
Legette doesn’t have a particularly high ceiling, given the fact that the Panthers’ offense is bottom-10 in points and passing yards per game. While it may seem valuable to scoop someone up with a 27.6% red zone target share and 23.1% end zone target share, keep in mind who Legette is playing for. He simply isn’t going to be contributing on a consistent enough basis to warrant a FLEX start, unless you are completely ravaged by both injuries and byes.
There are plenty of other receivers of Legette’s caliber who are probably available as well, like Troy Franklin, Alec Pierce, Elic Ayomanor and Darnell Mooney. If they are all gone and you have a roster opening, maybe take a flier on Legette just since the cost is so low. If he puts up a second consecutive double-digit performance, maybe you can flip him or include him in some kind of a larger trade package.
Legette was either option 1A or 1B alongside Adam Thielen in 2024, catching passes from Bryce Young and Andy Dalton as part of Dave Canales’ offense. Fast-forward to 2025, and Legette is still working with Young, Dalton and Canales. But now, he has McMillan ahead of him on the depth chart, too. Until he shows that his Week 7 performance wasn’t a flash in the pan, Legette is really only worth stashing in deeper dynasty leagues. A change of scenery, coaching change or leap in development somewhere down the road could always unlock Legette’s potential, after all.
