Despite finishing with a losing record in the 2025 NFL Season, the Carolina Panthers managed to win the NFC South and make the playoffs, hosting the Los Angeles Rams in the Wild Card Game, and even giving them fits in that round.
However, it was clear throughout the season that the Panthers just were not there yet. Both sides of the ball did look better, and the Panthers saw then-rookie wide receiver Tetairoa McMillian burst onto the scene, but the team just needed another offseason.
And perhaps this offseason is going to be the one that puts it all together. Well, offensively, Carolina did need another wide receiver, and with taking Chris Brazzell in Round 3 of the 2026 NFL Draft, not only did they get another receiver, but Xavier Legette is suddenly on notice in a major way.
Carolina Panthers Chris Brazzell pick is terrible news for Xavier Legette
Already 25 years old, Legette has struggled across his first two years with the Panthers, and he simply might not be a good player. Sometimes, through all the debates about whether a player can do this or that, they're just simply not good on the field.
Through two seasons, Legette has hauled in just 84 receptions for 860 yards and seven touchdowns, having seen a decline in production from year one into year two, so he's going in a complete opposite direction. Legette also caught a lower percentage of his passes and has been targeted a whopping 148 times despite having just 84 receptions.
While Legette is a physical mismatch, he's just not consistently creating separation and just looks slow and lost out there, unfortunately, With Brazzell who is more of a vertical threat, the Panthers downfield passing just took a major step forward, but both Brazzell and Legette fit into that 'big-bodied' mold at the position, so that is an obvious similarity here.
This pick also should make life easier for Bryce Young, who took a step forward in year three, but does need to take another step forward in year four. The front office honestly wouldn't be doing right by Young if they didn't give him another wide receiver, as, while McMillian is exceptional, there was a clear need for another weapon.
Sometimes in the NFL, picks don't work out - that's part of the game, and what separates the best from the worst front offices is their ability to see that a pick isn't going to work out, and make the change before it's too late. In one of the more important years in Panthers history - the 2026 campaign, adding Brazzell to the mix does put the Legette experiement in a tough spot, but it also potentially breathes some much-needed life into this offense.
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