Cross Chris Brazzell off your list of draftable players. That clears the runway for Xavier Legette, who posted a 35.5-percent College Dominator Rating on a very late 22.6 Breakout Age, to secure three-receiver set snaps.
Brazzell profiled as an athletic field stretcher with massive bust risk coming out of Tennessee, even before the injury. Though he will miss the season, dynasty managers can stash him on IR but should not expect late-season production. Meanwhile, Jalen Coker‘s stock just continues to rise and rise.
A first-round pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, Carolina Panthers ...
It didn't look good for wide receiver Xavier Legette when ...
Carolina Panthers wide receiver Xavier Legette said he lost...
Despite logging a minuscule 0.94 Yards Per Route Run and averaging just 6.0 Fantasy Points Per Game in a run-heavy Carolina offense last season, Xavier Legette is reportedly displaying improved professional focus on both the playbook and the field. Team officials are also praising his work ethic, a necessary step after his meager 35-reception debut resulted in a low 12.9-percent Dominator Rating.
Like his contemporary Keon Coleman, Legette is heading into a make-or-break season in the National Football League. History has not been kind to player’s of Legette’s archetype, as most first-rounders who flame out in Year 1 and 2 never recover. While Legette’s roster spot is secure with Tet McMillan still nursing a sore foot, and he will face additional target competition in training camp after the Panthers drafted Tennessee wide receiver Chris Brazzell in the third round. Legette is a long-shot to ever become a consistent fantasy producer and can be left on waiver wires in all but the deepest fantasy football dynasty league formats.
Jalen Coker just leveraged his elite +27.6% Target Premium (No. 7 among league wideouts) and 66.7% Contested Catch Rate into a healthy three-year extension with incentives that max out the deal at $41 million. As an undrafted free agent, Panthers brass did not want to see Coker hit free agency after just three years with the team.
Despite a quad injury sidelining him early in his sophomore year, the Holy Cross product proved his efficiency with a 2.10 Fantasy Points Per Target mark (No. 9) and a late-season scoring surge.
Coker is being drafted as an efficient WR4/FLEX option. With Tet McMillan still nursing a sore foot, Coker has been hogging training camp reps and impressing Carolina’s front office. With the organization now fully invested in his success, Coker continues to be a high-floor smash in all fantasy football formats possessing a Michael Wilson 2025 celing.
The Panthers are on the ascent in recent weeks, as evidenced by some recent tight contests against some of the league’s best teams. Carolina were just one Xavier Legette drop away from being in scoring position in the final minutes of Sunday’s game before losing to the Eagles.
Bryce Young is playing some of his best football, but still not providing at a prolific rate for fantasy. He was the QB20 in fantasy scoring in Week 14 even while compiling 29 yards rushing on seven rush attempts. The only pass catcher to record a difference-making fantasy performance was Adam Thielen, who brought in nine receptions for 102 yards. Xavier Legette drew eight targets, but caught just two for 39 yards. David Moore recorded five targets, but caught just two for 25 yards. Tight end Tommy Tremble caught the lone receiving touchdown, his only reception for two total yards receiving.
Unfortunately, rookie running back Jonathon Brooks is reported to have re-torn his ACL, the injury that landed him on IR for the early part of the season. That means Chuba Hubbard, who has seen bell cow usage with Brooks out, will continue to see difference-making usage down the stretch (Miles Sanders is also on IR with an ankle injury). Hubbard saw 26 carries and five targets in this one, and scored the Panthers other touchdown on the ground. Hubbard is in position to make an impact in the fantasy playoffs.
– Joel Ybarra, @metaffb
A resurgent Carolina Panthers offense led by second-year QB Bryce Young takes on a stingy Eagles defense in Week 14. The Eagles’ defensive unit is top-five in fantasy points allowed to opposing fantasy QBs, RBs and WRs. The Eagles are a less-than-ideal matchup for Young and the Carolina offensive weapons, even despite the fact that Young has come on as of late. The Alabama product threw 46 passes, completing 26 for 298 yards (both season highs) against the Bucs in Week 13, but that was an overtime game against the Bucs, who have a bottom-third D against the pass.
The Eagles have allowed a 300-yard passing game only once this season (Baker Mayfield in Week 4). They have yet to allow a 100-yard rusher on the season and have only allowed two 100-yard receiving games (Jayden Reed and Puka Nacua). The Panthers weapons are not exactly elite and Young has only one 300-yard passing game in his young career (last season).
Expectations should be tempered, but with six teams on bye in Week 14 and the fantasy playoffs looming, fantasy gamers may be in a position to start some Panthers. David Moore and Xavier Legette led the team in routes and targets over the last two weeks (post-bye), but Adam Thielen is the receptions (12) and yards (156) leader over that span. The 34-year-old vet is the most startable pass catcher and could see volume if the Panthers are playing from behind. That is likely since the Eagles are favored by nearly two touchdowns. Legette and Moore will have opportunities, but only hit their upside when scoring a touchdown.
Panthers running back Chuba Hubbard is now sharing the backfield with rookie Jonathon Brooks. Brooks had half as many (six) carries as Hubbard (12) in Week 13, but three targets to Hubbard’s zero, although Hubbard ran 29 routes to Brooks’ seven. Fantasy gamers will want to look elsewhere for RB production if possible.
– Joel Ybarra, @metaffb
The Carolina Panthers are coming off their Week 11 Bye to face the Chiefs. Kansas City just fell to the Bills, marking the defending champs’ first loss of the season. The Panthers downed the Giants in their last game (Week 10), but the Panthers are scoring just 16.7 points per game on the season – the 4th lowest in the NFL. The Chiefs defense has allowed just 19.4 PPG to opposing offenses, eighth-fewest in the league, and the fifth-fewest yards (297.5).
Bryce Young, who is getting his fourth straight start, threw for 224 yards and two TDs versus a tough Broncos D in Week 8, but threw for 171 yards and 126 yards, respectively, in his last two starts – one pass TD in each. It’s a low-volume pass attack with Young at the helm. No Panthers pass catcher has earned more than eight targets in any of Young’s starts. Jalen Coker drew eight against the Giants, but caught only three. Coker is tied with Xavier Legette for the team lead in targets over the last three with 17.
We could see an uptick in the Carolina passing volume against a middle of the road Kansas City pass defense, as the Chiefs’ run defense is a top-five unit. Adam Thielen is back in the mix this week, which could water down the pass volume, but Thielen will likely ramp up to game action slowly after missing the team’s last seven games. The bottom line is without a touchdown, none of the Panthers’ WRs or TEs is worth much more than a Bye week spot start. Legette is the most likely to get in the end zone, having caught four TDs on 45 targets and 69.8-percent (No. 72) Route Participation.
Miles Sanders is out with a lower leg injury and Jonathon Brooks is slated to make his NFL debut this week. That said, Brooks will merely spell Chuba Hubbard. Hubbard has been getting bell cow work this season – No. 9 with 151.6 Weighted Opportunities. Temper expectations against a stingy Chiefs run D, however, that has not allowed a single running back to gain more 69 total yards in a game this season.
– Joel Ybarra, @metaffb
