{"id":248103,"date":"2025-09-25T14:00:48","date_gmt":"2025-09-25T18:00:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/?p=248103"},"modified":"2025-09-25T07:29:20","modified_gmt":"2025-09-25T11:29:20","slug":"panthers-first-round-bust-on-trade-block-top-4-fits-emerge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2025\/09\/25\/panthers-first-round-bust-on-trade-block-top-4-fits-emerge\/","title":{"rendered":"Panthers First-Round Bust On Trade Block; Top 4 Fits Emerge"},"content":{"rendered":"

Carolina Panthers wide receiver Xavier Legette is having a rough start to his sophomore year, and one prominent NFL reporter believes the team could trade him while his value is still high. A first-round pick in the 2024 NFL Draft<\/a>, the South Carolina product had a decent rookie season, appearing in 16 games while recording 49 receptions for 497 yards and four touchdowns.<\/p>\n

\"Xavier
Arizona Cardinals cornerback Denzel Burke (29) makes a defensive stop against Carolina Panthers receiver Xavier Legette (17) at State Farm Stadium on Sept 14, 2025.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Panthers Could Trade Xavier Legette; 4 Team Fits Emerge<\/h2>\n

Unfortunately, he hasn’t been able to build on his rookie season. Through two games, the wide receiver has caught just four of his 15 targets for an embarrassing eight yards and no touchdowns. The advanced metrics aren’t any better, as his 48.8 PFF grade ranks 110th out of 114 eligible players.<\/p>\n

Because of this,\u00a0Bleacher Report’s\u00a0<\/em>Kristopher Knox<\/a> believes it’s time for the Panthers to trade Xavier Legette, and he believes the team could receive a conditional third-round pick for his services. The only question is, who would give up that type of return for him?<\/p>\n

Main Photo: Joe Rondone – Imagn Images<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

1. Dallas Cowboys<\/h3>\n

The Dallas Cowboys are currently 1-2 and desperately need to start winning games if they want to salvage their season. Unfortunately, this will be difficult to do, as the CeeDee Lamb injury<\/a> is just the latest in a long list of ailments affecting this team. George Pickens is a good receiver, but Dak Prescott will need more help to compensate for what might be the NFL’s worst defense.<\/p>\n

Jerry Jones loves to buy low on high draft picks that don’t pan out, as evidenced by the Jonathan Mingo and Kenneth Murray trades<\/a>. Now, it may be Xavier Legette’s turn, as the Cowboys need to add some talent via trade. Legette may be off to a slow start, but he has the size, speed, and athleticism you can’t teach.<\/p>\n

2. Kansas City Chiefs<\/h3>\n

Patrick Mahomes is getting by with his ragtag group of wide receivers, but nobody can succeed with this lackluster grouping over a full 17-game season. While the inevitable returns of Rashee Rice and Xavier Worthy should add some life to the passing game, the Chiefs should still try to bolster their depth with a Xavier Legette trade.<\/p>\n

Despite their relative struggles on offense, Andy Reid is still one of the best offensive minds in the game and knows how to get the most out of his talent. Just look at Tyquan Thornton: the former second-round pick couldn’t do anything with the New England Patriots but is now one of Mahomes’ most reliable weapons. Perhaps Legette can find the same success in a new environment.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

3. Cleveland Browns<\/h3>\n

Despite their upset victory over the Green Bay Packers, the Cleveland Browns still face an uphill battle for relevancy in the 2025 season. This year should be about evaluating young talent and finding potential foundational players for a years-long rebuild. With this in mind, a Xavier Legette trade would make all the sense in the world for this roster.<\/p>\n

While he has disappointed during his time with the Panthers, Legette is still a second-year player with plenty of gas left in his tank. Seeing as Jerry Jeudy is the only proven receiver on this team, Cleveland should try and find someone who could be the long-term WR2 for Dillon Gabriel<\/a>, Shedeur Sanders<\/a>, or whoever is under center in 2026.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

4. Pittsburgh Steelers<\/h3>\n

The Pittsburgh Steelers are 2-1, but their offense needs some work. Aaron Rodgers looks like a shell of himself and, outside of Week 1, has not been able to consistently push the ball downfield. D.K. Metcalf and Calvin Austin are a decent receiver duo, but it wouldn’t hurt to add another body into the mix.<\/p>\n

Xavier Legette is far from the safest bet in the world, but the Steelers shouldn’t be playing it safe in 2025. This team spent the past few seasons stuck in neutral, and they need someone with the upside to help bring this team on a deep playoff run. Nobody knows how to develop receivers better than the Steelers, so perhaps Legette can live up to his potential in a new environment.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Carolina Panthers wide receiver Xavier Legette is having a rough start to his sophomore year, and one prominent NFL reporter believes the team could trade him while his value is still high. A first-round pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, the South Carolina product had a decent rookie season, appearing in 16 games while recording […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2376,"featured_media":248105,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[36,30,8,19,16,9],"tags":[7811,5581,7661,32429],"class_list":["post-248103","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nfl-news","category-panthers","category-browns","category-cowboys","category-chiefs","category-steelers","tag-chiefs-featured","tag-jerry-jeudy","tag-panthers-featured","tag-xavier-legette"],"modified_by":"David Latham, Managing Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/248103","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2376"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=248103"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/248103\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":248106,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/248103\/revisions\/248106"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/248105"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=248103"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=248103"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=248103"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}