The Carolina Panthers traded one spot to the Buffalo Bills on Thursday for the final pick (No. 32) of the first round of the NFL Draft, selecting South Carolina wide receiver Xavier Legette.
The move gives second-year quarterback Bryce Young a new weapon after a season in which he struggled significantly as a rookie.
Legette was projected as a second-round pick with a first-round pick. The Panthers apparently believe in that advantage.
Legette possesses a strong size and speed package with a 4.39 40-yard dash time at 6-1 and 221 pounds. He is able to beat his defenders in man coverage for balls and can break free in the field. He will need to improve his route running at the NFL level, but is a promising weapon for an offense that desperately needs it.
The Bills moved down from No. 32 to the first pick in the second round at No. 33. The Panthers sent the Bills a fifth-round pick in exchange for a sixth-round pick to facilitate the trade.
The selection was Carolina’s only first-round pick after trading its top pick in last year’s deal with the Chicago Bears to acquire the 2023 No. 1 overall pick. They used that pick to select Young and then finished with the worst record in football, allowing the Bears to take USC quarterback Caleb Williams first overall on Thursday night.
The Bills went down twice on Thursday and did not make a first-round pick. They will be first on the clock for Round 2 on Friday.
Buffalo initially traded down from No. 28 to No. 32 to the Kansas City Chiefs. The Bills received the third round (No. 95) and seventh round picks (No. 221) from Kansas City and sent the Chiefs their fourth round picks (No. 133) and seventh round picks (No. 248) in the deal. The Chiefs selected Texas wide receiver Xavier Worthy at No. 28. The pick Carolina acquired from Buffalo was originally Kansas City’s.
The Bills move from the sixth round to the fifth round this weekend, but lose a year of contract control over their first pick with the deal. Rookie contracts for second-round picks do not provide the fifth-year team options that do first-round picks.
