Who Should I Start? Amon-Ra St. Brown or Xavier Legette

Friday, September 5, 4:54 PM

Detroit Lions wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown has established himself as one of the most consistent wideouts in the NFL, topping 115 catches and 1,200 receiving yards while scoring double-digit touchdowns in each of the past two seasons. However, St. Brown has historically been held relatively in check by his 2025 Week 1 opponent, the Green Bay Packers. In eight career games against Green Bay, St. Brown has totaled 47 catches for 481 yards and three touchdowns. He failed to reach 60 yards receiving in either of his two matchups against the Packers last season. One potential variable for 2025 is Green Bay's addition of star edge rusher Micah Parsons (back), who is officially questionable for Week 1 with a back injury but is expected to play. St. Brown is a master of intermediate and short-area route running, so he could be targeted frequently in the quick passing game if Parsons is putting pressure on Lions quarterback Jared Goff. St. Brown profiles as a low-end fantasy WR1 in Week 1 despite the potentially sub-optimal matchup.

Saturday, August 9, 3:36 PM

Carolina Panthers wide receiver Xavier Legette was ejected from Friday's preseason game against the Cleveland Browns after a first-quarter altercation. The 24-year-old did not record any catches or targets before being thrown out of the 30-10 loss. Legette was a first-round pick in last year's draft, with a rookie stat line of 49-49-4 on 84 targets. Panthers head coach Dave Canales acknowledged that while the play was physical, Legette's response was a liability. "You can't do that... both guys got ejected, rightfully so," Canales said, per Darin Gantt of panthers.com. The incident occurred while Legette was downfield blocking and got tangled up with Browns cornerback Rayshawn Mitchell. RotoBaller projects Legette as WR69 with a slight uptick in catches, yards, and TDs this season. He is most likely to be behind rookie stud Tetairoa McMillan and veteran Adam Thielen in targets. Still, he could emerge as an upside WR4/5 if anything happens to Thielen as the season progresses.