Two wide receivers the Panthers should watch in the 2024 Senior Bowl
With the two biggest holes of the offseason taken care of, the Carolina Panthers now turn attention to the 2024 Reese's Senior Bowl. The game and practices provide NFL scouts an opportunity to see a large majority of draft-eligible players in one place. For the Panthers, who have six picks in total between rounds two and six. […]
With the two biggest holes of the offseason taken care of, the Carolina Panthers now turn attention to the 2024 Reese's Senior Bowl.
The game and practices provide NFL scouts an opportunity to see a large majority of draft-eligible players in one place.
For the Panthers, who have six picks in total between rounds two and six. And after trading what turned out to be the No. 1 pick in 2023 to draft Bryce Young, the 2024 NFL Draft is one the Panthers can't get wrong. With that being said, let's take a look at two wide receivers the Panthers must prioritize at the Senior Bowl.
Xavier Legette, University of South Carolina
The story of the 2023 season for Young and the Panthers offense was a lack of weapons. Legette could be a high-potential antidote to that pressing problem.
Out of the University of South Carolina, Legette finished in the top 10 of every major receiving category for the 2023 season.
He claimed 71 receptions, racking up 1,255 yards and seven touchdowns. His game was also versatile, playing a significant amount of time in the slot and outside.
He gives Young a target for 50-50 balls. Legette plays a physical style of football that lends itself to working in traffic and producing at the NFL level.
The 23-year-old has been projected to be a late first-round or early second-round pick — landing him right in the window of opportunity for the Panthers.
Devontez Walker, University of North Carolina
Pass-catchers will define Young's second year for the Panthers. And if the front office is hoping for a Young resurgence, looking into adding Devontez Walker through the draft could be a viable solution.
At 6-foot-3, Walker represents more of the prototypical wide receiver that could make a difference in the Panthers' offense.
He played a majority of his snaps in 2023 lined up wide, making him an interesting outside threat for Young, who, throughout his career, has relied on timing routes and reading the defense to make up for his lack of size at the quarterback position.
Walker gives him someone realistic to throw to on the outside. In his junior season, Walker appeared in eight games, catching 41 passes for 699 yards and six touchdowns.
As the Panthers look primed to add depth to a wide receiver position that will be losing DJ Chark Jr. to free agency, Walker has to be a name they study closely throughout the week.
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