2024 NFL Draft Player Profile: South Carolina WR Xavier Legette

Eligibility: Fifth-year Senior

DOB: 01/29/2001

Height: 6-foot-3

Weight: 227 lbs

Legette was born in Mullins, SC and played his high school football for Mullins HS. There, he established himself as an offensive weapon who played wide receiver and quarterback; posting impressive numbers en route to earning a four-star recruiting ranking (247 Sports). He also played baseball and basketball at Mullins HS but pursued his opportunities to play football thanks to offers from several SEC programs. 

He enrolled at South Carolina in 2019 and played in 11 games that season. Legette broke into the starting lineup in 2020 during the COVID-19 campaign, starting six games before injuries cost him the final month of the season. He would start 11 games across the next two seasons combined before elevating into the WR1 role for South Carolina in 2023. 

(Don’t say the name Deebo Samuel…don’t say the name Deebo Samuel…don’t say the name Deebo Samuel.)

Legette’s built just like former South Carolina offensive weapon Deebo Samuel (dang it). With explosive open-field speed, a dense and thick frame, special teams abilities, and his run-after-catch upside, the parallels run deeper than just the helmet. (Just ask Mississippi State.)

I promise, that is the last time I’ll write the name Deebo Samuel in this assessment. That said, you do feel some type of way watching a receiver of this stature move the way that he does. He’s got big-time vertical speed and separation ability, and as he continues to develop as a route runner, he has the potential to become a nightmarish assignment (especially if he catches reps from the slot).

Legette has a massive catch radius, showcasing strong hands and hand-eye coordination to avoid trapping the ball against his frame. He’s tracked the ball vertically, attacked tunnel screens, and worked back to the ball on hard-angled stems. His sample size may be small as a volume receiver, but I’ve seen enough to have confidence that he can win at multiple levels of the field as an athlete and with ball skills. 

One year of premium production is sure to draw some questions from NFL evaluators. Yes, South Carolina has struggled offensively in recent years, but the amount of production he had across his first four years at South Carolina is paltry at best. Is that a deal breaker in his assessment? Absolutely not. But it does require some digging to find the “why” of how he was so grossly underutilized. He doubled his career receiving yardage production in September of his fifth season.

He’s a budding route runner, but a player of his stature provides a lot of surface area in press coverage. He’s big enough and strong enough to manhandle most press corners, but ensuring there’s development to stay on schedule with timing through releases and footwork at the line of scrimmage will be an important layer for him to master as he transitions to the NFL.

Legette has struggled early in his career with drops and consistency with his hands, so this is an element of his game that teams will need to vet and feel has been properly resolved. Such a large catch radius doesn’t get optimized without strong, reliable hands to throw back-shoulder or above the rim, which Legette has excelled at so far this season.

Legette is a late bloomer who has the potential to be one of the “draft process” prospects who cashes in big time. Based on projected GPS timing and his billed stature, this very well could end up being the 2024 version of Jonathan Mingo: A height/weight/speed final-season breakout receiver with a chance to shine at an All-Star event.

Current Projection: Top 100