Panthers takeaways: Can Xavier Legette be that top-tier WR? Are they considering OT at 8?

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PALM BEACH, Fla. — A day after telling Kay Adams the team had conversations about trading for DK Metcalf, Carolina Panthers coach Dave Canales turned the conversation to one of his own receivers.

Asked Tuesday about whether and when the Panthers would need to add a top-tier wideout to the Bryce Young-led offense, Canales said they already have one.

“I think we’ve got that guy. I think it’s Xavier Legette, and I think it’s up to the coaches to just continue to develop him and let him grow at his pace,” Canales said during the NFC coaches breakfast at the owners’ meetings.

The Panthers traded up one spot last year to draft Legette with the last pick of the first round. Despite playing with a foot injury that required offseason surgery, the former South Carolina standout ranked in the top eight among rookie receivers last year in catches (49) and receiving yardage (497).

But Legette struggled with dropped passes, including the potential game-winner late in a loss to the eventual Super Bowl-winning Philadelphia Eagles. Still, Canales saw enough plays to be encouraged by what Legette could become.

“A great goal for Xavier Legette is let’s just take that next step. This is going to be his first offseason with us — Phase 1 all the way through. Let’s just see where that goes,” Canales said. “You’ve got a guy who’s 6-2 1/2, 225 pounds and runs 4.3. And he’s a playmaker, and it’s on film. So let’s start there and take the next step with him.”

Given Canales’ and Dan Morgan’s ties to Seattle, it was natural for the Panthers to explore a possible trade for Metcalf. But the team never made a trade offer, according to a league source.

The Panthers have their top four wideouts from 2024 back this year — Legette, veterans Adam Thielen and David Moore, and Jalen Coker, the leading receiver among all undrafted players in receptions (32), receiving yardage (478) and receiving touchdowns (2). Coker’s 69.6 catch percentage was more than 11 percentage points higher than Legette’s 58.3.

When asked whether Legette could benefit from joining Chuba Hubbard and Tommy Tremble in their daily work on the JUGS machine, Canales said Legette does plenty.

“He’s an over-worker, and that’s a good thing. He’s wired the right way. He’s grinding. He’s in there, he’s doing stuff. You can’t get him out of the building,” Canales said. “He’s doing all the right things. And with the hard work, it’ll pay off for him.”

Four other takeaways from Canales’ media session Tuesday morning at The Breakers resort:

Taylor Moton’s future in Carolina

The Panthers seem OK with letting right tackle Taylor Moton play out the final year of his contract, despite a $31.3 million cap number that accounts for 11.1 percent of the team’s salary cap, per Over the Cap. Moton’s Ironman streak finally ended after 120 games and 104 starts last October when he missed two games with a triceps injury.

Moton has been a picture of durability since joining the Panthers as a second-round pick in 2017. But he will be 31 when the season starts and there is concern about the health of his knees. Moton told The Athletic in 2023 he’s dealt with soreness in his left knee, which he described as a repetitive-use injury.

Moton was inactive with a knee issue for the Week 17 loss at Tampa Bay last year, but impressed Canales by returning for the season finale in Atlanta despite the Panthers having been eliminated from the playoffs weeks earlier.

“T-Mo’s been steady Eddie here for a long time, so we’re counting on him doing that again,” Canales said.

“He still plays really good football,” he added. “He’s an excellent pass protector. He’s great on the front side of those runs, he moves people. So until those things are not apparent, we love having him.”

While it may be prudent to see how Moton holds up this year, his price tag could go up if he plays well and stays healthy. Would the Panthers consider one of the top tackles with the eighth pick? Possibly.

If they’re looking for Moton’s successor, Missouri’s Armand Membou seems to make the most sense. The 6-4, 332-pounder played exclusively on the right side in college and can move. His 4.91-second 40 at the combine was the fastest by any offensive lineman at least 6-4 and 330 pounds in 22 years, according to NFL Research.

Panthers could still look to draft playmaker

You might have read: The Panthers went heavy on defense in free agency, while adding only one offensive player — former Dallas Cowboys running back Rico Dowdle. But Canales said the Panthers “would love to” bring in another playmaker for Young in the draft.

“Honestly, what we did in free agency allows us to take the best available,” Canales said. “I look across the depth chart and the first 11 guys that you put out there, before you get into your rotation, I feel good about playing good football right now. So that really just allows us to look at each round and take the best available player.”

The Panthers have a top-30 visit scheduled with Arizona wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan and will do their due diligence on Penn State tight end Tyler Warren. There are several other intriguing tight ends behind Warren, including Michigan’s Colston Loveland, LSU’s Mason Taylor and Miami’s Elijah Arroyo.

It might not be at 8, but my sense is the Panthers will find another pass catcher for Young fairly early in the draft.

Asked about the possibility of adding an offensive playmaker in the draft, Dave Canales said: “We’d love to. What we did in free agency allows us to take the best available.” pic.twitter.com/1AsLKuCzns

— Joe Person (@josephperson) April 1, 2025

Speaking of Bryce …

Several reporters from other markets stopped by Canales’ table to ask about Young’s turnaround over the second half of the season. Canales believes Young thrives in “high-stakes situations” and came back from his Week 3 benching focused on leading and impacting the team.

Canales said the goal for Young is to master a system that was new to him last year. That includes “playing football at the line of scrimmage,” which Canales called a critical step in terms of making pre-snap adjustments.

Young has excelled in the no-huddle offense his first two seasons. But Canales said the reduced play calls in no-huddle — limited so the quarterback can get the plays off quickly — make it counterproductive to use all the time.

“We’ve gotten this question for 15 years: ‘Hey, why don’t you just play more tempo because you do so well in two minute?’ It doesn’t work that way,” Canales said. “I’ve always had in the back of mind — mix the tempo in enough, but not so much that you become predictable.”

Not running away from the problem

The Panthers finished last in the league in run defense in 2024, when they became the fourth team in NFL history to allow 3,000 rushing yards in a season. Losing Derrick Brown and Shaq Thompson to season-ending injuries in September didn’t help. But Canales indicated the issues stopping the run were related to effort and toughness.

“Chasing the ball — that needs to go way up. The effort and the style of play. I was not satisfied with the style of our defensive football, first and foremost,” he said. “That is just about effort, strain and attempts on the ball. So we have to step that up. I’ll always be pushing the envelope on that.”

A couple of the Panthers’ newcomers on defense — nose tackle Bobby Brown III and safety Tre’von Moehrig — have a reputation as excellent run defenders. Moehrig’s Pro Football Focus run grade of 87.5 last season ranked seventh out of 171 safeties, while Brown’s 67.7 run grade placed him 27th among 219 interior defenders.

(Photo of Xavier Legette: Jared C. Tilton / Getty Images)

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