The pressure on NFL draft picks is enormous, but when you are a first-round pick, you are expected to impact your team in your rookie season. In Kansas City, Chiefs Wide Receiver Xavier Worthy is beginning to find that groove that makes him the key to what Patrick Mahomes wants to do with his offense.
When the Kansas City Chiefs traded first-round picks with the Buffalo Bills, it was another gift from their AFC Rival. University of Texas speedster Xavier Worthy predicted he’d be a Chief two days before the NFL Draft; he had to wait until General Manager Brett Veach could swing a deal to move ahead of some teams interested in his top target.
The Bills accepted the terms, and Worthy immediately impacted a Chiefs offense that had high hopes when training camp began. With Free Agent signees Hollywood Brown, Rashee Rice, and Worthy, Mahomes was committed to throwing the ball deep this season.
However, injuries ended Rice’s season, and Brown made his 2024 debut Saturday against the Houston Texans. His addition, along with veterans JuJu Smith-Schuster and DeAndre Hopkins, gives the young rookie three veterans to lean on as he grows within the offense.
However, if you ask Patrick Mahomes about Worthy, he’ll gush over his potential because he knows the sky is the limit for his young receiver. That’s high praise from the NFL’s best player, but Worthy, because of his work ethic and ability to keep learning each week, has become the key to the Chiefs’ passing game.
Worthy is blessed with Flash Speed, enabling him to get open on any snap. He’s virtually uncoverable, and Mahomes is starting to get Worthy the ball in critical downs. On Saturday, he scored his 8th touchdown of the season, leading all rookie receivers, and he’s been on fire in clutch situations.
On Sunday, Offensive Coordinator Matt Nagy stated that the comparison to Rashee Rice, who hit his stride at this point in the season a year ago, is uncanny. It’s like what Worthy is experiencing now for the Chiefs.
If not for Rice last season, there’s no chance the Chiefs will win the Super Bowl.
Worthy doesn’t feel that pressure because of the veteran receivers he plays with each Sunday and Travis Kelce this season. He’s part of an offensive entourage that, if it clicks on all cylinders, will be impossible to defend in the postseason.
Still, Worthy is the engine that creates open spaces for himself and the other receivers. Even when he’s not the number one option on the play, the Chiefs use him as a decoy, allowing the offense to carry several options within each play called by Andy Reid.
Worthy’s touches have increased over the last month, which means Mahomes trusts him to deliver when called upon. It’s taken time for the two to gain confidence. Still, they’ve missed out on the super big plays that tell me there is another gear to the offense that could happen in the postseason.
On Wednesday, the Chiefs main goal is to defeat the Steelers and lock down the top seed in the AFC. A loss would mean they have to win at Denver, and they could use the extra week of rest to heal their bodies.
For that to happen, Worthy might be the key to putting pressure on the Steelers’ secondary. This would allow his teammates to feast on the offense and give them more opportunities for the big plays he and Mahomes have been hoping to bring to their offense.
