Xavier Legette entered the league as a first-round pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, but the South Carolina product has yet to justify that high investment. After a rookie Bryce Young struggled to succeed with one of the worst supporting casts in recent memory, Carolina tried to give him an explosive, freak athlete who could make plays at all three levels of the field.
As of this posting, the wideout has not made the most of his physical gifts. While Xavier Legette had some impressive moments during his rookie season, the wide receiver took a big step back in Year 2. Appearing in 15 games while making 12 starts, Legette finished the season with just 35 receptions for 363 yards and three touchdowns on 64 targets. 2025 first-round pick Tetairoa McMillan leapfrogged him on the depth chart, as did former undrafted free agent Jalen Coker.
With McMillan and Coker not going anywhere, Xavier Legette is likely fighting for a depth spot and could continue to fall if third-round pick Chris Brazzell impresses early. Given Carolina’s sudden accumulation of young, cost-controlled talent at wide receiver, Bleacher Report’s Moe Moton believes the team could trade him to the Miami Dolphins.
“Based on overall career production, the Dolphins have the worst wide receiver corps,” Moton writes. “If they want to see quarterback Malik Willis make strides as a first-time, full-time starter, the club should look to bolster its pass-catching group…As a former first-round pick, [Xavier Legette] has underwhelmed, but a new opportunity to be the No. 1 wideout in Miami could lead to increased production.”
Xavier Legette, Dolphins, Connected In Latest Trade Rumor
It’s funny to think that, at this point last year, Miami had one of the league’s best starting receiver duos in speedsters Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle. However, a lot has changed in the last 365 days, as Hill tore his ACL and remains unsigned after Miami released him in the offseason. Waddle, meanwhile, is now a Denver Bronco after the team traded him for a first-round pick.
The Dolphins are embracing a rebuild, having parted ways with multiple big-name veterans while accumulating draft picks and freeing up salary cap space. While this is a solid strategy for a long-term rebuild, it means the on-field product in 2025 will likely leave something to be desired. First-year head coach Jeff Hafley believes Malik Willis can be a starting-caliber quarterback in the league, but nobody can succeed without proper weapons. Xavier Legette may not have lived up to his first-round potential, but he’d still be a starter for this team.
As of this posting, the Miami Dolphins have the underwhelming trio of Malik Washington, Jalen Tolbert, and Tutu Atwell atop the depth chart. On paper, this is easily the worst group of pass-catching talent in the league, and no quarterback could succeed with such an underwhelming group of playmakers. Xavier Legette might not turn this team into a top-five passing attack, but he’d add a base level of competence to the position, and he still has plenty of untapped athletic potential. The Panthers would probably trade him for a late-round pick, so why shouldn’t Miami roll the dice on the South Carolina product?
