ESPN's Field Yates weighs in on Xavier Legette's draft stock

It’s been a season to remember for wide receiver Xavier Legette. Not only does he continue to re-write South Carolina’s history books but he’s also been improving his NFL draft stock each week.

On Thursday, longtime ESPN NFL analyst Field Yates appeared on GC Live Afternoon Drive on Thursday. Despite calling this year’s wide receiver class the strongest position when it comes to talent, “and it’s not close,” Yates shared how many teams will view Legette.

[Become a GamecockCentral member for $1]

“The size and speed definitely is a starting point,” Yates told Gamecock Central. “And as you think about how players are gonna be evaluated in the pre-draft process about when and where they’ll be drafted once we get to late April, I think you have to remember that in the NFL that size and speed combination is always going to prevail. If you’re an NFL team and you’re trying to decide who should we be taking. You’re always sort of examining the possibility of that player reaching his top outcome. The top outcome for a player that’s 6-3, 225 pounds and runs like the wind like XL, it’s probably higher than the same outcome for a guy who is 5’11, 190 pounds that can run fast but can’t run with that same level of power and speed combination that you’re getting from Xavier.”

But it’s not just his speed and size that stands out when you watch Legette’s tape. Through nine games, Legette has 973 yards receiving on 50 catches and five touchdowns. That’s the six most receiving yards by an individual in FBS.

[Get the On3 app! Stay connected with GC!]

“He has this unique size and speed combination that we’ve been talking about but his body control is just sick. There’s been a couple of plays this year where he goes up and like — he can time a jump perfectly on one play and high point the football, which is a very difficult thing to defend when you’re his size… But there’s been a couple of plays where it’s almost like he’s mistiming his jump but he can just hover and gravitate above air and find a way to come down with the football.”

That ability to not only catch the ball but to make things after after the catch is another skill that standouts about Legette. A skill that reminds Yates of another former Gamecock wide out.

“He’s so good after the catch. One of the best receivers in the NFL, one of the very best in the NFL in terms of run after catch skills is fellow Gamecock Deebo Samuel. These two guys are very different in size and stature for sure but Xavier is so good with the ball in his hands after the catch that he’s gonna be a very, very highly drafted player.”

[Newsletters: Get breaking news and analysis from GamecockCentral]

Legette’s coming out party this season has been better than what anyone could’ve predicted. The fact that prior to this season, the most yards Legette had ever posted in a season was 167 yards last year. But as Yates shared, don’t get so caught up in the whole body of work when it comes to evaluating a player’s draft stock.

“It’s a good reminder that we’re projecting these players. There are guys throughout the college game that the production is not what would strike you as first round pick, or top 50 pick, or first two day pick but their traits are. That’s kind of the golden rule from my scouting days and I got hammered over the head about it a million times. We draft traits. We don’t draft production. Now, traits usually lead to production. If a guy is productive he usually has good traits. But there are some circumstances. The system is setup in a certain way or a team in college only has one receiver who picks up all the catches and the yards. For Xavier what you saw the first four years, was probably not nearly as refined as the player that we see right now.

[GamecockCentral Business Network]

“The production was nowhere close to what it is right now but there were some of those traits. He didn’t go all of a sudden from 5-8 to 6-2 from last season to this year. It’s a good reminder that you’re projecting these players and you have to think deeper than just the stat sheet may tell you… You don’t have to pound the table as strongly as you did last year if you were a believer in Xavier because the proof is in the pudding. I think the guys that come on late, I don’t know if it necessarily catapults them up the board faster but it definitely gives scouts that much more of an argument to make towards their general manager or their head coach about why they should be be taking a player like XL.”

Discuss Xavier Legette and South Carolina football on The Insiders Forum!