The Carolina Panthers were an abject mess last season, after leveraging everything to get Bryce Young, and then failing to have the resources to put a competitive team around him. They’ve done their best to get him some weapons, adding Diontae Johnson, some upgrades along the line, and some weapons through the draft. Let’s take a look at those draft-acquired weapons to see if there’s any fantasy football viability there for 2024 redraft leagues, shall we?
FULL 2024 CAROLINA PANTHERS DRAFT RESULTS
| Round | Pick | Player | Pos | College |
| 1 | 32 | Xavier Legette | WR | South Carolina |
| 2 | 46 | Jonathon Brooks | RB | Texas |
| 3 | 72 | Trevin Wallace | LB | Kentucky |
| 4 | 101 | Ja’Tavion Sanders | TE | Texas |
| 5 | 157 | Chau Smith-Wade | CB | Washington St |
| 6 | 200 | Jaden Crumedy | DT | Mississippi St |
| 7 | 240 | Michael Barrett | LB | Michigan |
[Note: The following is an excerpt from our Round One Instant Reaction piece.]
Round 1, 32: Xavier Legette, Wide Receiver, South Carolina (6’1” 221 lbs)
Talent:
Xavier Legette is a fun player to watch, as he is a beefy receiver who is also as fast as the dickens with the football in his hand. He invites contact, and he sheds it just as easily, as his compact frame allows him to take on defenders with a couple of inches on him. Legette got open a lot on tape, but Spencer Rattler frequently missed him due to Rattler having a terminal case of “Being Spencer Rattler,” but that doesn’t mean that Legette didn’t impress on tape.
However, he struggles sometimes as he wants to go one-on-one with his defender once he has the ball in his hands, sometimes focusing too much on the guy in front of him instead of the rest of the defense. He has the jets to turn any catch into a touchdown with his speed, agility, and overall YAC skills, and he does it with legs like Christmas hams. He’s also a willing and skilled blocker, which will be very helpful in real-life football.
NFL Comparison: Wish.com Deebo Samuel
2024 Opportunity:
The Carolina Panthers’ offense is one of the most talent-bereft groups in the entire NFL. Legette will fill their Laviska Shenault role, but he is a much better football player than Shenault. Unless the offense takes a huge step forward, I am not exactly enthused about whatever is going on there in Carolina for 2024.
2024 Fantasy Football Outlook:
I am not at all interested in Legette, despite his dual-threat skillset likely getting some folks hot and bothered.
TALENT
2024 OPPORTUNITY
2024 FANTASY FOOTBALL OUTLOOK
Round 2, Pick 46 Overall: Jonathon Brooks, Running Back, Texas (6’0” 216 lbs)
Talent:
He’s just #goodatfootball. There isn’t much else to say about him or any real other way to put it. Brooks has a preternatural ability to be where he needs to be on the field to make the ball move forward, toward the end zone. He has slick hands, good burst and acceleration, and creativity in the open field. You pair this with his ability to take one cut and go, and hit home runs, as well as his great contact balance, and you have the best all-around running back in the class. While Lloyd is a better runner, Brooks’ hands and ability to make things happen make him the most versatile back in the class.
He is a tad bit small for his height, and he is recovering from an ACL injury in November, which will likely cause him to start behind the eight ball for his rookie year. But, when healthy, he is easily the best and most versatile running back in this class.
NFL Comparison: Smart Joe Mixon
2024 Opportunity:
It all depends on if you like mediocre or oft-injured running backs, then you might see Brooks as far down on the depth chart behind Chuba Hubbard and the recently-signed Rachaad Penny. While I concede that Brooks is currently injured, Rachaad Penny hasn’t slapped together 12 healthy months in a long, long time and Chuba Hubbard is… well, he’s bad. He’s marginally above league average if you consider that there are 150 running backs on rosters. He’s top 70. The only issue, to me, for Brooks’ runway, is his knee injury.
The ACL tear will likely find him starting the year slowly, behind Penny and Hubbard. But, there’s nothing those backs can do to stave off a fully healthy Brooks, who is a better runner than Hubbard and a better pass-catching back than Penny. He’s the whole package, though he is likely to start the season slowly and come on as an end-of-season force.
2024 Fantasy Football Outlook:
Jonathon Brooks is likely to end up on a waiver wire at some point, or someone you can get on the cheap in trade negotiations. He has everything in front of him to succeed, given the upgrades along the Panthers’ line and the lack of decent passing options, leading to check-downs… as soon as he shakes off Hubbard and Penny. Impatient drafters could find themselves moving on from Brooks when the bye weeks spin up and they get into a roster crunch. Take advantage of their impatience, and don’t let that be you.
TALENT
2024 OPPORTUNITY
2024 FANTASY FOOTBALL OUTLOOK
Round 4, Pick 101 Overall: Ja’Tavion Sanders, TE, Texas (6’4” 245 lbs)
Talent:
Many considered Sanders to be the TE2 in the draft class, but I didn’t see it. Sanders is a massive step down from Bowers but still has some skills in his own right. The bad, unfortunately, jumped off the film first for me: he isn’t a good blocker in space. He feels incredibly unnatural when he has to go find his blocking assignment. Luckily, when he has to meet his assignment in the hole, he is a far more natural blocker than in the open field. Since this is a fantasy football evaluation, however, I feel… good… about Sanders. Not great, good. He has some traits that feel like he could develop into a valuable fantasy football asset down the line, but I am not bullish on his rookie year from a talent perspective.
He’s big and strong, and fast enough to beat linebackers up the seams. He also has a nose for the ball and plays off his defenders well to create leverage at the point of the catch. He can shy away from multiple guys, and he won’t ever make the highlight catch in traffic, but he is more than proficient at doing what teams need him to do to move the chains. His value entirely depends on quarterback and scheme, and we will see how that turns out.
NFL Comparison: Dawson Knox or C.J. Uzomah
2024 Opportunity:
The Panthers tight end room is a bunch of guys who never did anything in the NFL… and Jordan Matthews, who was an okay wide receiver before converting into being a forgettable tight end. This hasn’t mattered much in recent years, as the Panthers were the team least interested in passing to the position since Greg Olson left. However, Dave Canales comes over from Cincinnati, and Seattle, where his offenses threw the ball to tight ends about 100 times per year, all told. That’s a nice chunk that will likely focus on Sanders but is also likely to end up in the pockets of Ian Thomas & Tommy Tremble, as well.
2024 Fantasy Football Outlook:
I’m not too bullish on Sanders in his rookie year. I know that Sam LaPorta “broke” the tight end curse, but that had tons of signs. Unfortunately for Sanders, none of those signs exist in his rookie year. As such, I have no interest in him in redraft leagues.
