A Patriots Fan's Draft Wish List: WR Xavier Legette

Kara Durrette. Getty Images.

The 2024 wide receiver draft class is about as loaded with high level prospects as any as I can ever recall. Depending on your source, you can find as many as a half dozen or more projected to go in the 1st round. And as much as nine or 10 in the Top 40. Which is great news in New England, given that the Patriots have so far shown about as much interest in improving their wide receiver depth chart as the popular girls at Weymouth South showed in me. (Which was remarkable given my talent for doing spot on, word-for-word impressions of Monty Python skits. Go figure.) After an offseason of neglect, here's where we stand:

Current Roster: Juju Smith-Schuster, Demario Douglas, Tyquan Thornton, Jalen Reagor, KJ Osborn, TJ Luther, and Kayshon Boutte, who's reportedly under investigation for betting heavily on his own games at LSU.

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(I pause here to give opposing defense coordinators a chance to gather themselves after realizing they'll have to figure out a way to stop this Murderer's Row. OK, back to the blog.)

Given that, I can't for the life of me conceive of a reality where the Patriots don't invest generous amounts of draft capital in this position. Not enough to take Marvin Harrison, Jr., Malik Nabers or Rome Odunze. Or any of the projected 1st rounders. I'm not buying the grift that says they're going to go WR with the No. 3 pick and find a quarterback later on. Nor do I play the game that says they're going to trade up from the 34th pick to get a wideout. There are simply too many holes to fill for them to pool resources enough to land any one guy. Particularly at this position, which has a bust rate higher than any in all of sports. Given the supposed depth of this draft class, I think it's way more likely they'd wait until Round 3 to find a receiver than spend all it would take to move back up into the 1st. 

Which is why I'm fishing in the waters of who will be available when the Patriots are on the clock early Friday night. Like a guy on a dating app willing to settle for someone who might realistically be interested in someone with his looks. Or me at a house party senior year hoping to find a mildly attractive Monty Python fan. 

Xavier Legette, South Carolina. 6-foot-1, 221 pounds, 1.54 split, 4.39 40-yard dash, 40-inch vertical

According to the average compiled by NFL Mock Draft Database, Legette peaked at the 36th spot, and currently sits at No. 53, and is the 12th overall wide receiver in their projections. Which in theory anyway, puts him within reach of the early 2nd round. 

Going into the offseason, Legette got a lot of buzz as someone the Pats would be interested in at the Senior Bowl. And you can see why. He fits the mold of a wideout with a skillset they need, but seriously lack. A rare combination of good size and impressive straight line speed who according to the analytics dweebs who track such things, once hit 22 mph on a catch and run last year. The ability to play both Z-receiver and boundary-X. And who can give them the ability to "weaponize" the offense, to use Eliot Wolf's own term. 

Positives: Legette had a hell of a 2023, with over 1,200 yards, 17.7 YPC, and 7 TDs. The Gamecocks moved him around, with almost exactly 1/3 of his passing snaps in the slot and 2/3 split wide. His major attributes are the size and power to win the contested catches, the timing and extension for high-pointing balls, the hands to snatch balls out of the air away from his body, giving him a Vetruvian Man catch radius, and the extra gear to separate from defenders after the reception, as demonstrated by that aforementioned YPC number.

Negatives. Those numbers are all well and good. But they were nowhere to be seen for the first four seasons of his college career. In 2021-22, he appeared in 24 games and totaled 230 yards. So he's either a late bloomer, or a Tommy Tutone-level One Hit Wonder, depending on your perspective. As you might imagine from his five years at SC, he's already 23. And possibly the biggest knock on Legette is that he's not a polished route runner with the advanced footwork skills to make corners commit/flip their hips and then go the other way. He more or less takes defenders on and out-phyicals them. Which was all well and good in his final season in the SEC, but will need refinement against Pro Bowlers at the next level. 

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The Generic Equivalent of: I suppose it's just because I've got Gamecocks on my mind (yeah, I hear myself), but given the size, the speed, the way he came on in his final year in Columbia, and the fact he came off the board at No. 36 in 2019, I'm going with Deebo Samuel.

I'll look at other wideouts who are expected to last until the 2nd round. But I doubt I'll find one who suits the Patriots needs and expectations better than Legette.