Week 11 NFL Moneyline Underdogs
Mike Randle
Last Updated: 12/19/2023
One of the biggest risers this season has been Xavier Legette after battling multiple injury-riddle seasons where he was unable to establish himself as a consistent producer. This year was only his second season with double-digit receptions and his first 1,000-yard season – his 1,255 yards were second in the SEC and seventh in the nation. Even though we saw these incredible marks, there will always be a question of whether this was a breakout or a one-year splash in the pan.
It is hard to ignore the physical gifts Legette was blessed with, standing an imposing 6-foot-3 and weighing in at a stout 223 pounds. He uses every inch of this frame throughout his entire game. This shows up with the ball in his hands or away from it in the run game, where he is an above-average blocker. He offers tremendous speed for his frame, which shows up once he has the ball in his hands and gets into open space. This allows him to excel in crossing and drag routes, where he can run away from defenders and create huge chunk plays after the catch. At the catch point, Legette is at his best, offering a huge catch radius and displaying the ability to dig the ball off the turf or get it over his head with ease. More times than not he does this while in stride allowing him to eat up yards after the catch even on poorly placed throws. When he struggles in this area it tends to be when he is asked to catch the ball on his back hip and spin upfield with any fluidity. On the other hand, if it’s a 50/50 ball, Legette makes it more of a 70/30 situation as he has a natural ability to highpoint the football. Pair this with his strong hands and length which allows him to corral the ball away from his body and keep it away from defenders trying to knock it loose.
Even though he is a fluid mover for his size, he does show some clunkiness at times, which does negatively affect him. The most prevalent area we see this is in his routes or after the catch when asked to adjust his speed or move laterally. This lack of sudden movements makes it hard for him to win in any detailed routes. This is likely part of the reason that he has limited route exposure thus far in his career. He does show a strong ability to use upper body movements to sell routes and create separation when asked though. In addition, he displays enough quickness and physicality to stack defenders at the release point on more simple route concepts (slants, gos, drags, etc.). He also has a good ball-tracking ability, allowing him to make big plays down the field as well. I also have little worry about him in press coverage as his strength allows him to defeat this with ease.
- Speed
- Physicality
- Catch radius
- Fluidity in routes
- Limited route tree
- Lateral movement
- Gamecocks’ Toughness Award – Offense (2022)
- SEC Fall Academic Honor Roll (2020)
- SEC First-Year Academic Honor Roll (2019-20)
- 40-yard dash: 4.39s
- 10-yard split: 1.54s
- Vertical: 40″
- Broad Jump: 10’6″
- Three-cone: TBD
- Shuttle: TBD
- Bench: TBD
- X receiver
Xavier Legette seems semi-limited when it comes to fantasy. His landing spot will be more important than most in this class. He is a perfect complement to an already established WR1, he can offer the nitty-gritty parts of the game and be a force in the run game as a blocker. All of these are great for football but not for fantasy. He feels like he has an upside of DK Metcalf but also could be Mack Hollins.
