NFL Draft: Panthers trade back in 1st round with Bills, select South Carolina WR Xavier Legette at 32nd overall

The Carolina Panthers traded a spot with the Buffalo Bills in the last pick (No. 32) of the first round of the NFL Draft on Thursday and selected South Carolina wide receiver Xavier Legette.

The move gives second-year quarterback Bryce Young another weapon after a season that saw him struggle a lot as a rookie.

Legette was projected as a second-round pick with upside potential in the first round. The Panthers obviously believe in this advantage.

Legette has a solid 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 break free downfield. He will need to improve at the NFL level, but is a promising weapon for an offense that desperately needs one.

The Bills moved from the No. 32 first pick in the second round to the No. 33 pick. 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 their top pick in last year’s deal with the Chicago Bears to acquire the No. 1 overall pick in 2023. They used that picks to select Young, then finished with the worst record in football, allowing the Bears to take USC quarterback Caleb Williams first overall on Thursday night.

The Bills traded down twice on Thursday and didn’t make a first-round pick. They are first on the clock Friday for the second round.

Buffalo initially moved from No. 28 to No. 32 with the Kansas City Chiefs. The Bills received Kansas City’s third-round (No. 95) and seventh-round (No. 221) picks and sent the Chiefs their fourth-round (No. 133) and seventh-round (No. 248) picks. as part of the agreement. The Chiefs selected Texas wide receiver Xavier Worthy 28th overall. The pick Carolina acquired from Buffalo was originally from Kansas City.

The Bills move up from the sixth to fifth round this weekend, but lose a year of contractual control over their top pick with the deal. Rookie contracts for second-round picks don’t come with the fifth-year team options that first-round picks offer.