Buffalo Rumblings
Legette, who brings great size and deceptive speed, is projected to land with a team in Round 2
On Tuesday, The Buffalo Bills took part in a private workout with Xavier Legette, who played wide receiver for South Carolina. The news was shared by Ryan Talbot and Tom Pelissero.
Though the pre-draft top-30 visit window had ended ahead of this week, private workouts were not part of that equation. With a private workout so close to the 2024 NFL Draft what can we learn? Perhaps nothing, or possibly a whole lot.
While it’s likely the Bills’ front office is just exercising its due diligence to ensure they know all they can about this year’s wide receiver class, we do know the team met with Legette officially during the 2024 NFL Scouting Combine.
Legette is projected to be drafted in Round 2, on Friday night during this year’s draft. At this year’s combine, Legette measured in at 6’1” and 221 pounds. In timed and agility drills, Legette managed to post a 4.39-second 40-yard dash, 1.54-second 10-yard split, 40” vertical, and 10’6” broad jump.
As a fifth-year senior, Legette finally put together a showcase season, blowing the previous four seasons of combined production off the map. That final campaign in 2023, Legette made 71 receptions for 1,255 yards (17.7 ypr) with seven touchdowns.
(stats courtesy of Sports Reference)
In case you hadn’t heard, the Bills lost their top two receivers from the previous four seasons in Stefon Diggs (traded to Houston Texans) and Gabe Davis (signed with Jacksonville Jaguars in free agency). Josh Allen has one receiver left on the roster with whom he’s built any in-season chemistry — that being Khalil Shakir.
Some might say any wide receiver the team adds would be a good fit because they need to add talent. But there’s a difference between strength in numbers however they come and a concerted effort to build a diversified set of receivers.
Legette is a decently sized receiver who brings deceptive speed, but at this stage remains fairly green as a player. He’s probably best-suited to playing more of the deep-ball game, which Josh Allen will fully oblige any willing participant.
If Legette is to be relied on as a team’s featured pass catcher (aka WR1), he’ll need to put real effort into improving his intermediate route running to complement an elite ability down the field after the catch. Scouts have praised Legette’s play close to the line of scrimmage, where he dominates running slants, crossers, and even screens.
It’s easy to understand why the Bills would have interest in Xavier Legette, and he’s a player to keep an eye on during Friday evening’s portion of the draft.
