Panthers trade up into first round of NFL draft, select WR Xavier Legette from South Carolina

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — The Carolina Panthers selected wide receiver Xavier Legette from South Carolina after trading up one spot in the NFL draft to get into the bottom of the first round, giving quarterback Bryce Young another weapon in the passing game.

The 6-foot-3, 227-pound Legette had 71 catches for 1,255 yards and seven touchdowns last season 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.

Legette gives the Panthers another option to go along with Diontae Johnson, Adam Thielen and last year’s second-round pick, Jonathan Mingo.

Legette was the seventh wide receiver taken in the first round.

The Panthers didn't have a first-round pick entering the night. The team traded that pick — which turned out to 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.

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Steve Reed, The Associated Press