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Two Panthers' WR-related articles from The Athletic

Icege

By Icege,
in Carolina Panthers

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Icege Grand Master

Icege

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Panthers’ Xavier Legette learns a lesson, WR competition heats up and more

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CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Xavier Legette used boxing workouts during the offseason to improve his cardio, then put that training into practical use Friday night against the Cleveland Browns.

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“It was just something that I shouldn’t have done, and that ain’t supposed to happen in a football game,” Legette said. “So I felt like I owed the fans an apology.”

Legette didn’t explain what triggered the fight, which led to the first ejection of his football career. He’s expecting to be fined for his actions, which he said would serve as a deterrent the next time he’s in a situation where tempers are flaring.

“I won’t put a finger up,” he said.

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“He ain’t stepping up, he’s been doing that,” Legette said of Coker, who had a strong rookie season after signing as an undrafted free agent. “He’s a very good player.”

Legette and Coker are part of a deeper receiving room this year. The Panthers drafted Tetairoa McMillan (first round) and Jimmy Horn (sixth) and signed Hunter Renfrow, the former Clemson and Las Vegas Raiders receiver who was out of the league last season, dealing with ulcerative colitis. Renfrow returned to practice Monday after missing two weeks with a hamstring issue, and he looked to be moving well.

Throw in offseason pickup Brycen Tremayne, who had two nice catches Monday, and the Panthers will have tough decisions to make with the last one or two receiver spots.

“We got a whole lot of competition in there. I don’t know how they’re gonna do it or how it’s gonna play out,” Legette said. “But everybody in that room’s a good player.”

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Toward the end of practice, the offensive line — one of the team’s strengths — was missing several starters. Pro Bowl guard Robert Hunt sat out the last team drill after twisting his right ankle. Right tackle Taylor Moton also seemed to be shaken up, but he was able to return. The line is already missing starting left guard Damien Lewis (shoulder) and reserve guard Chandler Zavala (knee).

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Canales said veteran Austin Corbett will be the center after beating out Cade Mays. The coach thought it was important to name a starter before the practice and preseason game at Houston, so Corbett could start getting more reps with Young.

 

‘Unguardable’ with ‘freaky lateral quickness’: Hunter Renfrow returns to where he broke out

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CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Dabo Swinney referred to him as “craftsman” when it comes to running routes. Carolina Panthers wide receiver Adam Thielen used the word “unguardable.”

But before Hunter Renfrow was a Houdini on the route tree, he was a by-the-books rookie receiver who seldom strayed too far from the play’s design. That approach helped Renfrow thrive at Clemson, where he went from a walk-on to the most prolific receiver in College Football Playoff history.

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“I think I was overthinking everything. Whenever the coaches write a play a certain way, Gruden would always say, ‘Make the play come to life.’ I wasn’t doing that. I was kind of just doing what was in the playbook,” Renfrow said in a phone interview last week.

“And if it said run 10 yards and run in, that’s what I was doing. That’s what I’d always been coached to do. But in the NFL everybody can do that, and people are a lot more athletic than I am. So kinda had to put my own little spin on it. That was right when I started to do it a little unorthodox but it was somewhat working for me.”

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According to Thielen, Renfrow’s skill set is hard to describe and almost defies physics. While receivers are taught at a young age to keep their feet underneath them so they don’t slip when making cuts, that somehow doesn’t apply to the 5-10, 185-pound Renfrow.

“When he’s changing direction, his strides are far away from his body,” Thielen said. “So you’ve got to have some serious body control and center of gravity stability to do that.”

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Renfrow started feeling poorly right around the Pro Bowl, with physical activity often bringing on nausea. It would take a while for doctors to diagnose him with ulcerative colitis. By then he’d lost 35 pounds and seen his production dip dramatically after he’d signed a two-year, $32 million extension in 2022.

Renfrow spent last year working at his uncle’s equipment relocation and storage business in South Carolina and wondering if his playing days were done. But after getting his condition under control through diet and medication, Renfrow had his agent reach out to the Raiders and Panthers in March for tryouts.

And on the Panthers’ first day in pads last month, there was Renfrow shaking defensive backs with quick-twitch moves while Swinney looked on from the sideline. But going from 0 to 60 after a year away from the game left Renfrow with a pulled hamstring, and trainers shut him down for two weeks.

Had it been the regular season, Renfrow said he wouldn’t have missed any games. “I think they’re just trying to be cautious,” he said. “With taking last year off, trying to just be smart with the load being put on my body. Get re-calloused back up.”

 

Edited by Icege
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TD alt Veteran

TD alt

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11 minutes ago, RevJ said:

XL may have taken boxing lessons and did throw a quick combination of punches but he also was put on the ground by the DB.  Maybe his boxing trainers were of the gambling variety and spent extra time teaching him how to take a dive.

It's a helluva lot easier to put someone on the ground when you're grabbing their facemask and using it as leverage to put them in an awkward position. The DB was lucky that they both had helmets on. Real talk.

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kungfoodude Grand Master

kungfoodude

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11 hours ago, Davidson Deac II said:

Ok, that is a little funny.  Guess they might need to add "don't hit the guy in the helmut" to his training.  

Ray Lewis did this later in his career too. It's surprising how much boxing can improve cardio.

If you want a very small window into that. Put your hands up in a traditional boxing defensive stance and do that for 12 - 3 minute rounds.

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