With less than 8-weeks remaining before the draft, we are of course in that part

of the draft season where the shorts and t-shirt workouts and 40-yard times have draft

prospects sliding up and down 32 draft boards. Amongst the prospects, there tends to

always be one that starts getting late recognition, or late criticism, the closer the draft

comes within view and this year is no different with the emergence of prospects like

Ladd McConkey, Brenden Fiske and Luke McCaffrey.

    Standing at 6’1 and weighing-in at a solid 221lbs is a receiver that isn’t getting as much

attention as you’d think given his stature. Xavier Legette out of the University of South Carolina seems to have all the physical gifts any team would kill to get their hands on.

Big down the field play ability, a contested catch phenom that combines his size and

athletic ability with 4.39 speed! Xavier finished his senior year with 71 receptions, 1255

yds, an average of 17.7 yds per reception, and 7 TDs with his longest being a 76-yard

TD against Mississippi State. As beasty as he is on the field, off-the field Xavier appears

to be laid back with a quiet confidence and obvious self-awareness. During an interview

at the Senior Bowl, the hopeful prospect critiqued his own level of energy on Day 1

stating “the first day I didn't like how I came out, but throughout the practice I felt like it

got better for me" and when asked about the most important thing for him to show to the NFL teams and scouts leading up to the Draft in Detroit, he immediately responded

“consistency” With all the confidence in the world, Legette also mentions “I really feel

like any way I get the ball in my hands, I can get into that end zone.”

    What’s the catch, right? No pun intended! But really, why is this guy who clearly has all

the physical gifts and personality traits not being talked about in the same breath as

Ladd Mcconkey, Troy Franklin, or Keion Coleman? Well, there may be some that are

hesitant to fall head-over-heels for the prospect as he wasn’t on anyone’s radar until this

past season. He played all four years at The University of South Carolina but didn't

“break-out" until his last, but I would argue that the very thing that makes people

hesitant is the very reason why he should be higher on their draft boards. While

consistency is important, one could argue that Legette is hitting his stride and is far, far

from hitting his peak and with the right coach, the few weaknesses in he has in his

game, such as needing development in playing against zone coverage, can be easily

corrected. I challenge anyone reading this to watch college highlights of DK Metcalf, AJ

    Brown and Xavier Legette and tell me that you can see a difference, you can't!

Watching these guys side-by-side, they're virtually triplets! All three are big bodied, tall

receivers that excel in the deep-ball game and can high-point the ball and survive

through contact on contested catches, and all three have another thing in common...

speed!

    However, as much as he has not been talked about, the impact he is making during the

draft process is evident in the rankings. Just this morning on NFL Draft Buzz, he was

listed as the 70 th overall prospect and the 15 th ranked wide receiver with receivers like

Dez Walker and Roman Wilson ahead of him and he was projected to be drafted at the

top of the 3 rd round. Currently, according to NFL Draft Buzz, Legette is ranked as the

38 th overall prospect and the 8 th wide-receiver prospect with receivers like Troy Franklin

and Adonai Mithcell listed ahead of him. NFL Draft Buzz also has him projected to go in

the top 10 of the 2 nd round. The teams currently picking at the top spots in the second

round? 33) Carolina Panthers 34) New England Patriots 35) Arizona Cardinals 36) Washington Commanders 37) Los Angeles Chargers 38) Tennessee Titans 39) Carolina Panthers (from N.Y. Giants) 40) Washington Commanders (from Chicago) 41) Green Bay

Packers (from N.Y. Jets) 42) Houston Texans (from Minnesota) If I had to put a wager

on it, I don't see him making it out of the top 5 in the second round as all the teams

between 33-38 are in need of a receiver just like him!

   Wherever Legette shall land, however it shakes out, no disrespect to the wide-receiver's ranked ahead of him, but if Xavier Legette becomes anything near his comparable of DK Metcalf or AJ Brown, the other 31- teams that he isn’t on are going to come back to this very moment to try to figure out how they ever let such a great prospect slip through their line-of-view! It will be fun to watch and in just 38 days (about 1 month 1 week) we will find out who was paying attention to him!