Xavier Legette staying confident during pre-NFL Draft process despite Senior Bowl injury

As some of the top NFL Draft prospects took to the field last week for the Senior Bowl, Xavier Legette watched from the sidelines. The former South Carolina star suffered an injury during the week of practice and couldn’t play in the game, although he stayed in Mobile to talk with NFL teams in attendance.

Still, in the short time he was able to practice, Legette impressed. It’s also keeping him in the mix to go in the early rounds of April’s draft.

Legette was dealing with ankle soreness, and that kept him out of the game. Before he went down, he raised some eyebrows and got some high praise from ESPN analyst Louis Riddick, among others. A potential late-first or early-second round pick, Legette said he thinks his stock is on the rise, and he now has his sights set on Indianapolis for the NFL scouting combine.

“I feel like I’m trending in the right direction, man,” Legette told 5GOATs via Zoom from the Panini America VIP event in Las Vegas. “I’m doing everything right, keeping the main thing the main thing. I feel like I’m going to have a very great time in Indianapolis for the combine. … I feel like my time down there, I really showed everybody the things that I can do [and] carrying it over from the season.”

Legette got to hear some feedback from scouts and general managers in Mobile, and his skillset is an intriguing one for NFL teams. He’s coming off the best year of his career at South Carolina, hauling in 71 receptions for 1,255 yards and seven touchdowns to lead the Gamecocks.

Legette’s message to teams is simple. Get him the ball, and he’ll make plays.

“They’re getting an all-around player,” Legette said. “Deep threat. I’m also a threat with the ball in my hand. I can play a little bit of everywhere on the offense. You can put me at receiver, you can put me at Wildcat quarterback, you can even put me at running back. However they want to put the ball in my hand, man, I’m willing to do it.”

Xavier Legette getting ‘a lot of great feedback’ ahead of NFL Draft

After the Senior Bowl, Xavier Legette came in as the No. 45 overall pick in ESPN analyst Matt Miller’s two-round mock draft. However, CBS Sports’ Tom Fornelli projected him to the Buffalo Bills as the No. 28 overall selection in the first round of his latest mock draft.

It’s safe to say Legette is in prime position to hear his name called on one of the first two days of the draft. That lines up with the feedback he’s heard, too.

“I’ve been hearing a lot of great feedback, man,” Legette said. “They aren’t telling me where I’m actually projecting, but a lot of them, they just keep telling me, they know I’m going to be going pretty high. They keep telling me just keep striving for the best, and you’re gonna get the best. Right off the bat, man, that’s just telling me they’ve got me pretty high.”

Mock draft season is well underway, with projections coming out in droves. While it’s hard to avoid hearing what people are saying – as is the case in the social media age – Legette said he tries not to pay close attention to them. He’s keeping his focus on his preparation and putting himself in a good position for draft weekend.

That starts in Indianapolis.

“I’m trying to run a fast time,” Legette said. “I don’t want to throw out any numbers right now, man, but I’m trying to run a fast time and solidify my spot in the NFL Draft. Wherever that spot is, I’m just trying to solidify that and make the best of my opportunity.”