NFL Draft | Panthers add Michigan LB Michael Barrett 7th round

DETROIT (WTVD) -- The Panthers gave young quarterback Bryce Young another weapon on Thursday night.

Carolina selected wide receiver Xavier Legette out of South Carolina after trading up one spot in the NFL draft to No 32. Legette was the last of seven wide receivers selected in an offensive-heavy first round.

The 6-foot-1, 221-pound Legette possesses good size and speed and is coming off a highly productive season with 71 catches for 1,255 yards and seven touchdowns for the Gamecocks. He had no more than 18 receptions in a season in his first four years at South Carolina before emerging in 2023.

Watch every pick of the second and third rounds beginning at 7 p.m. on ABC11.

Legette gives the Panthers another option to go along with Diontae Johnson, Adam Thielen and last year's second-round pick, Jonathan Mingo. There's a possibility he could also be used on kickoff returns, too.

Panthers general manager Dan Morgan said Legette has the "dog mentality" he covets in players.

"He definitely has that about him," Morgan said. "He's a great young man, but you can tell he has that look in his eye. I think he's not only a special player but a special person. ... He's big, he's strong, fast and physical. He has a lot of qualities we just loved."

Morgan said the team began to zero in on Legette after bringing him in for a meeting before the draft. Previously, the team had sent 10 members of the organization to Legette's workout in Columbia, South Carolina, where Carolina wide receivers coach Rob Moore ran the drills.

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Legette mentioned on social media before the draft that he thought the Panthers would take him if he fell to No. 33.

Turns out he was right.

"There was a good vibe there," Legette said of the meeting.

Panthers coach Dave Canales said he likes the versatility that Legette brings after he was used in several roles in college.

"If you look at the versatile way the Gamecocks were able to use him whether it's out of the backfield, jet sweeps, short crossers, down-the-field posts - there really isn't much more we can do with receivers," Canales said. "And he's done it all."

Legette was known as a physical receiver in college and plans to bring that to the next level.

"This is a grown man's game and I feel like I'm a grown man," Legette said.

This is the second time in the past four years the Panthers have selected a South Carolina player in the first round after taking cornerback Jaycee Horn eighth overall in 2021. Horn has been very good when he's played for the Panthers, but has struggled with injuries. On Friday, the team announced it has picked up Horn's fifth-year option.

Legette used to go against Horn daily in practice a few years back.

"He is one of the reasons that I became the player that I am," Legette said. "He made me better."

The Panthers didn't have a first-round pick entering the night. The team traded that pick - which turned out to be the No. 1 overall pick - to the Chicago Bears last year to move up to get Young. The Bears used that pick on quarterback Caleb Williams.

The Panthers traded the 33rd overall pick and one of their fifth-round picks to the Buffalo Bills for the 32nd pick and the Bills' sixth-round selection.

SECOND ROUND

The Panthers selected Texas running back Jonathon Brooks with the 46th overall pick.

The Panthers traded up six spots to take Brooks on Friday night, the second-latest selection for the first running back to go off the board.

"I think for us, we value the running backs and we value the running game," Morgan said. "I think to have a guy like Jonathon Brooks, he was a guy we loved and identified. ... They are valuable to us because we are going to be running the ball."

The only draft that had a longer wait for a running back came in 2014. Bishop Sankey was the first taken when he went 54th to Tennessee that year.

Brooks might have gone earlier but he tore his ACL late in the season after rushing for 1,139 yards in 11 games.

Brooks said he believes the league is underrating the position.

"I guess the league and all of the fans will see this year," Brooks said. "I do agree that as a running backs class, and in the NFL in general, I think a lot of people are going to start showing why we should be held to a higher standard."

THIRD ROUND

With the eighth pick of the third round (72nd overall) the Panthers took Trevin Wallace, a linebacker out of Kentucky.

FOURTH ROUND

With the first pick of the fourth round (101 overall), the Panthers added Texas tight end Ja'Tavion Sanders.

FIFTH ROUND

With the 22nd pick of the fifth round (157 overall), the Panthers added Washington cornerback Chau Smith-Wade

SIXTH ROUND

With the 24th pick of the sixth round (200 overall), the Panthers added Mississippi State defensive tackle Jaden Crumedy.

SEVENTH ROUND

With the 20th pick of the seventh round (240 overall), the Panthers added Michigan linebacker Michael Barrett.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.