Xavier Legette Has Opportunity For Bigger Panthers Role

Carolina Panthers rookie wide receiver Xavier Legette is about to receive a bigger opportunity to impact Dave Canales’ new-look offense. The Panthers placed veteran wideout Adam Thielen on injured reserve with a hamstring injury earlier this week, the team announced, ruling him out for a minimum of four contests. Legette should take full advantage of more playing time and targets.

Thielen was still productive in Sunday's victory over the Las Vegas Raiders. He converted a season-high five targets, tied for second-most on the team, to three receptions, 40 receiving yards, and one touchdown. Veteran quarterback Andy Dalton, who replaced Bryce Young in the starting lineup, was extremely comfortable targeting Thielen, and it was no coincidence.

The experienced quarterback-receiver duo appeared in one contest together for the Panthers last season. Thielen recorded season highs in receptions (11) and receiving yards (145) in that game. Dalton will have to start looking elsewhere now that Thielen is sidelined. Considering that he already targeted Diontae Johnson on 14 occasions Sunday, the majority of those newfound targets should be going Legette's way.

The Panthers were obviously enamored with Legette throughout the pre-draft process. New general manager Dan Morgan traded up into the first round (No. 32 overall) to ensure his services.

Legette certainly showed flashes of being a player on the rise throughout Sunday's 36-point performance. The former South Carolina standout recorded a career-high 42 receiving yards, including an explosive gain of 35. That represented progress after he saw zero targets in Week 2 with Young at quarterback.

Legette's ability to create post-catch yards for himself was on full display during his explosive pick-up. His 35-yard gain featured 25 yards after the catch. Legette also reached the 19th-fastest speed among all wideouts in Week 3 at 20.5 mph, according to tracking data by Next Gen Stats. 

It certainly wasn't a perfect performance by any means though. A critical error cost Legette on a failed two-point conversion attempt. He landed out of bounds after making this catch despite possessing ample operating room to get two feet down.

Dalton's performance deserves a ton of flowers. The well-traveled journeyman completed 26-of-37 passing attempts for 319 yards, three touchdowns, and zero interceptions. His 319 passing yards ranked fourth-best among all quarterbacks across Week 3. Dalton was making quick, efficient decisions. His 2.17 time-to-throw was the fastest among all QBs, a skill that pairs well with Legette's ability to do damage around the line of scrimmage.

Dalton had the sixth-highest passer rating at 123.6. He also posted an outstanding Expected Points Added (EPA) per play of 0.29, and an overall EPA of 12.6 per RBSDM. All that to say if Dalton maintains this level of play, there's tangible reason to believe Legette will soon enjoy a breakout performance.

Dalton must identify another No. 2 target in the wake of Thielen's injury. Johnson is probably maxed out at 12-15 targets per contest. Legette is fully capable of endearing himself to Dalton while taking full advantage of an opportunity to shoulder an increased workload in the coming weeks.