In all likelihood, South Carolina wide receiver Xavier Legette and the Bears are unlikely to be a match in the 2024 NFL Draft.
The 6-foot-1, 221-pound Legette has shot up the draft boards over the past few months and is expected to be drafted somewhere between the late first and early second round. The Bears own the No. 1 and No. 9 picks in the first round but don't currently have a pick between nine and No. 75 in the third round.
While a draft pairing with the Bears doesn't appear to be in the cards at the moment, that could easily change should the Bears opt to trade down from No. 9 and replenish the second-round pick they dealt away to acquire Montez Sweat at the deadline.
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Legette is a big receiver who excels at contested catches and is a freight train in the open field. That combination of size, speed, and run-after-the-catch ability would pair well with DJ Moore and Keenan Allen, two receivers Legette has studied and would love to start his NFL career alongside.
“That would mean a lot," Legette told NBC Sports Chicago during a promotional interview for Six Star Nutrition protein. "That would be two great vets that I would be learning from. Keenan Allen, you know, he got a little bit of that run after the catch and he take it off the top shelf. DJ Moore, man, he’s just great at everything. Integrating me into that offense, man, it would be dangerous. It would be great playing with them guys.”
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Legette rattled off a long list of receivers he studies to improve his game, including A.J. Brown, Deebo Samuel, DK Metcalf, and Allen.
“Man, what he do a lot that I see is he runs a lot of tempo routes," Legette said of Allen. "He knows that he’s not that fast, and he’s getting pretty old man, so with the tempo on the route, man, the guys, they really don’t know what’s coming.”
In March, the Bears acquired Allen from the Los Angeles Chargers for a fourth-round pick. Acquiring Allen was part of a larger plan to create the best possible landing spot for presumptive No. 1 overall pick Caleb Williams.
Legette understands that the situation often dictates the success of an NFL career, and beginning his career with an elite talent like Williams at quarterback would give him a chance to take off.
“Oh man, Caleb Williams, man, his arm talent is crazy," Legette said. I really don’t know how he thinks when he’s off the field, but his arm talent is crazy, man. He can put the ball anywhere. Just being able to already have that in a quarterback and then just being able to pick his brain, man, we would be great, and we’d grow together.”
The Bears need to add another receiver in the draft so they don't have to put all the onus on Moore and Allen in 2024.
Washington's Rome Odunze is seen as a potential option should he be available at No. 9. But if Odunze is off the board at nine, the Bears could trade down and target a receiver a bit lower in the draft.
That would bring several talented receivers into the picture, including the Texas duo Adonai Mitchell and Xavier Worthy, Georgia's Ladd McConkey, Oregon's Troy Franklin, and an ideal fit in Legette.