Thoughts on Panthers’ 2024 rookie class at bye week: Legette, Coker offer upside at WR
The Carolina Panthers are 3-7 and riding a two-game winning streak at the bye week. And while their record isn’t particularly pleasing to the eye, the team — under first-year head coach Dave Canales — is seeing a relative boon of sorts with its rookie class.
After years of the franchise struggling with the scouting and development, first-year GM Dan Morgan — along with his front-office staff — has put together a strong group of new players to fill out the roster and potentially build around. With six draft picks — seventh-round pick Michael Barrett was traded to the Seattle Seahawks for eventual starting cornerback Mike Jackson in August — and two heavily contributing undrafted rookies carrying the torch for the class, the Panthers are seeing an influx of young talent ascend in important roles.
From first-round pick Xavier Legette to undrafted safety Demani Richardson, the Panthers are getting a strong glimpse of their future contributors in the Morgan-Canales era. While second-round pick, running back Jonathon Brooks, has yet to compete in a game this year, the promising returns from the rest of the class at least offers some upside to look forward to over the next few months of this season and beyond.
Here are thoughts on each of the members of the draft class as well as a pair of standout undrafted rookies:
WR Xavier Legette
2024 stats: 29 catches for 284 yards and four touchdowns; five carries for 22 yards (10 games)
The Panthers traded up into the first round of this year’s draft to select Legette. And while some have questioned the motivation of that trade up the board, Legette has delivered enough early flash to warrant the desire to have a fifth-year option on his rookie contract.
Legette has come as advertised as a jump-ball maven. His ability to leap up and grab the ball out of the air has given Canales a cheat code of sorts in short-yardage and red-zone opportunities. Legette has four receiving touchdowns on the season, which is good for 36.3% of the receiving scores for the Panthers through the first 10 games of the year.
While Legette’s yardage isn’t particularly astonishing, he is on pace for a rookie season of 49 receptions, 483 yards and seven touchdowns. To put that into perspective, that would be the best rookie receiving season for a Panthers wide receiver since DJ Moore came to town in 2018.
Legette still has work to do when it comes to consistency. He has had a few pretty notable drops, and his route running leaves a lot to be desired at times. The gadget-play upside is still there, but to this point, it’s been kind of lackluster. He also has had a history of minor injuries that have popped up.
But the upside, especially due to his size, is evident. And the South Carolina alum is living up to expectations in most facets through 10 games.
RB Jonathon Brooks
2024 stats: N/A
The Panthers have played it cool with Brooks as he recovers from a torn ACL suffered in November of last year. While Brooks was taken off the non-football injury (NFI) list out of necessity last week, the Panthers decided to hold the rookie out of the matchup in Munich against the New York Giants. Brooks is now likely to make his NFL debut at Bank of America Stadium against the back-to-back Super Bowl champions, the Kansas City Chiefs, in Week 12.
While Brooks has only been a spectator thus far, his outlook for the future is bright. Chuba Hubbard was rewarded for his standout play during the first half of the season with a four-year contract extension last week. That deal for Hubbard takes pressure off Brooks and forms a long-term tandem that should keep both players fresh into their prime years.
Brooks and Hubbard complement each very well on paper, as the rookie is a home-run threat with receiving ability and Hubbard is more of a “possession” style running back who rarely loses yardage.
LB Trevin Wallace
2024 stats: 43 tackles (one for loss) and two forced fumbles (10 games)
Like most of the rookies in this class, Wallace began the season in the background. But following a rash of injuries, Wallace stepped up into the starting lineup in Week 5 and never really looked back.
Wallace, the team’s third-round pick from Kentucky, has shown a seek-and-destroy mindset. While that outlook has led to some hiccups in coverage, he’s proven to be active against the run. Wallace has stacked up tackling stats since he entered the starting lineup in September, and he leads the team with two forced fumbles.
Wallace is working his way through the fire of learning technique at the NFL level. He’s also a bit undersized for the inside linebacker position. But it’s clear that Morgan, a former linebacker-turned-evaluator, saw the toughness and athleticism of Wallace during the draft process. Those two traits have shined through during the first 10 games of the campaign.
If Wallace pans out, the team has a long-term successor for Shaq Thompson, who coming off back-to-back season-ending injuries and is in the final year of his contract.
TE Ja’Tavion Sanders
2024 stats: 26 catches for 253 yards and a touchdown (10 games)
Sanders, the team’s fourth-round pick, has more single-season receiving yards at tight end than any player has had at that position for the Panthers since 2019. He has played in just 10 games, and he’d cleared that hurdle by Week 9’s win over the New Orleans Saints.
Sanders has improved as a run and pass blocker after being scarcely used in that role during his college days at Texas. He has lived up to the hype as a receiver, though, and his 87-yard performance against the Saints was among the major breakout moments of the year on offense.
While he’s still a work-in-progress from a technique standpoint, he has done a very good job of finding open space in zone coverage. He has used his 6-foot-4, 252-pound frame well with contested opportunities, and he looks like a future long-term starter at a position that needs consistency and durability in the grand scheme of the offense.
CB Chau Smith-Wade
2024 stats: 22 tackles (nine games)
The team’s fifth-round pick was thrust into a bigger role after the release of veteran nickel corner Troy Hill in October. Smith-Wade has rotated into the secondary over the past month and had some positive moments, especially in the run game. Smith-Wade has a tough-nosed approach to playing in the secondary and that toughness has been on display when he’s gotten regular action.
The Washington State alum has also been a regular on special teams during his rookie season. And while Dane Jackson has succeeded him as the primary nickel corner, Smith-Wade has the upside to eventually be the long-term answer at the position. While the snaps have been inconsistent thus far, Smith-Wade seems like a worthwhile contributor, even as just a backup.
DE Jaden Crumedy
2024 stats: N/A
Crumedy, the team’s sixth-round pick, didn’t end up making his NFL debut in Munich on Sunday.
Prior to last week, he had previously been sidelined on injured reserve since the start of the season due to an ankle injury sustained in the preseason opener against the New England Patriots in August.
Crumedy is a developmental prospect. But he should see some snaps down the road with the Panthers putting forth a makeshift defensive front down the stretch. With Derrick Brown (knee) out for the season, the Panthers need someone to step up opposite A’Shawn Robinson and Shy Tuttle on the line. Crumedy will could eventually get a chance to be that guy.
WR Jalen Coker
2024 stats: 17 catches for 263 yards and a touchdown (seven games)
Coker’s breakout performance against the Denver Broncos in Week 8 made it palatable to trade 2023 second-round pick Jonathan Mingo to the Dallas Cowboys. The undrafted receiver from Holy Cross has been a pleasant surprise during the past seven games of the season, as he has formed an impressive tandem with Legette.
Coker appears to be a long-term successor-in-waiting for veteran Adam Thielen. Coker has the ability to make plays downfield at the Z position, and he’s been quite effective in the slot as well. The rookie also has terrific hands and sound route-running ability. His speed is understated, but he clearly knows how to leverage his subtle quickness in space.
Coker is a player worth getting excited about in Carolina.
DB Demani Richardson
2024 stats: 24 tackles and a pass breakup (seven games)
The undrafted rookie from Texas A&M had some standout moments as a playmaker during training camp. While he made the initial 53-man roster, he was eventually placed on the practice squad for the first few weeks of the season. Once he was elevated due to injury, he began to contribute exclusively on special teams.
But when Nick Scott joined fellow veteran Jordan Fuller on injured reserve, Richardson’s status on the depth chart went to the top of totem pole. In the first two starts of his career, Richardson led the Panthers in tackles in back-to-back games. He showed terrific technique as a tackler, and he did a nice job using his size against the run, an area of weakness for the overall defense.
While Richardson might not profile as a long-term starter, he is playing with four veteran safeties who are all set to become free agents in March.
Xavier Woods is in the final year of a three-year contract, while Scott, Fuller and Sam Franklin are all on one-year deals. If the Panthers are forced to overhaul the position in the offseason, and Richardson continues to perform admirably as rookie, he could see himself go from undrafted free agent to full-time starter in a little under a year’s time.
This story was originally published November 14, 2024 at 5:00 AM.
