South Carolina wide receiver Xavier Legette was selected with the No. 32 overall pick of the 2024 NFL Draft on Thursday night.

Legette won’t be going far, as he was selected by the Carolina Panthers with the final pick of the first round. The Panthers traded up one spot with the Buffalo Bills in order to take Legette to close out Thursday night’s action. 

Legette was not previously expected to go in the first round of the draft, but was obviously thrilled to be joining the Panthers. The former Gamecock will now be a top option for last year’s No. 1 overall pick, Bryce Young, in the Panthers’ passing game.  

“I didn’t know what to expect, I was just waiting to hear my name called,” Legette said. “And then once they called me and told me they was trading up for me man, it was a whole lot of joy and excitement.”

Here’s video of Legette getting the good news from the Panthers’ brass:

Legette became the 11th SEC player to get picked in the first round of the draft, leading all conferences. The Pac-12 came in second with 8 selections on Day 1 of the draft. 

Legette is the first South Carolina player to be selected in the first round of the Shane Beamer era. The last Gamecock to be selected in the first round was Jaycee Horn, who went No. 8 overall in the 2021 NFL Draft. 

Legette spent 5 years at South Carolina and is coming off of his best collegiate campaign in 2023. He caught 71 passes for 1,255 yards and 7 touchdowns as he established himself as one of the SEC’s best wideouts.