Who Should I Start? Xavier Legette or Dont'e Thornton Jr.

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.

Wednesday, August 6, 12:06 PM

On the Las Vegas Raiders' first unofficial depth chart of the preseason, they've listed rookie wide receiver Dont'e Thornton Jr. as a starter opposite Jakobi Meyers. Thornton has impressed all season leading into his first year in the NFL and continues to get reps with the first-team offense during training camp. With the Raiders expected to play their starters in their preseason opener this Thursday against the Seattle Seahawks, we should see the 22-year-old get some run with quarterback Geno Smith for a series or two. So far, Thornton has been more impressive than Jack Bech, and he could operate as Smith's top deep threat down the field in 2025. Thornton averaged an impressive 25.4 yards per catch in his final season at Tennessee and could be worth a late-round flier in deep fantasy leagues. RotoBaller has him ranked as the WR78.