How did the NFL let the fastest prospect in league history slip to Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs?
That might be the question the NFL world is asking itself later this season if Xavier Worthy turns into Mahomes’ favorite deep target in his 2024 rookie campaign.
Worthy, Kansas City’s first-round pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, hauled in two passes from Mahomes in the Chiefs’ second preseason game on Saturday before beating the Detroit Lions’ secondary for a 22-yard touchdown catch from QB2 Carson Wentz.
What Will Xavier Worthy Add to the Chiefs’ Offense?
Worthy, who set the NFL Combine record with 4.21-second 40-yard dash in March, is set to give the Chiefs’ offense something it lacked during the club’s Super Bowl run: explosive plays.
According to TruMedia, just 12.2% of Mahomes’ attempts went for 16+ yards in 2023. Mahomes finished 22nd in explosive play rate, ranking only slightly better than Russell Wilson.
FREE: Subscribe to PFN’s NFL Newsletter
Mahomes’ 6.8-yard average depth of target was second-worst in the NFL; only Bengals backup QB Jake Browning aimed at nearer targets on average.
Worthy should help Mahomes rectify that problem.
Here’s what Pro Football Network Draft Analyst Ian Cummings said about Worthy’s speed in his pre-draft scouting report:
“Worthy is a deadly offensive weapon for defensive backs to contend with in a space-dominated modern NFL. He’s a hyper-elite speed threat with the long strides to chew up space in an instant, but he also knows how to use that speed to scare DBs out of optimal leverage as a route runner, and he has the bend and nuance to capitalize.
“Worthy’s speed is such an important foundational element to his game, but he knows how to build beyond it. He’s not just a one-trick pony. When he is working the vertical plane with his speed, he’s shown he can track the ball while keeping speed and making high-difficulty catches.”
Xavier Worthy first NFL Touchdown🔥 pic.twitter.com/L8ISXQXUIM
— Pro Football Network (@PFN365) August 17, 2024
Worthy was excellent on “go” or “nine” routes at Texas in 2023, posting a 62.5% success rate on those plays, per Matt Harmon’s Reception Perception. But he was also above average or better on out, curl, post, and flat routes.
While Worthy’s 172-pound stature might have led some teams to shy away in the draft, he couldn’t have found a better landing spot than Kansas City.
Head coach and offensive play-caller Andy Reid will consistently scheme Worthy open, using alignment and motion to ensure the speed demon isn’t pressed at the line.
“He’s a weapon on his own with his speed, agility, wiry RAC strength, and competitive mentality, but he also has the route-running ability to gash both man and zone coverage,” Cummings wrote in Worthy’s scouting report. “Right away, his sheer speed should stretch defenses thin and create opportunities across the board, but Worthy himself has the tools to be an impact starter at all three levels.”
Will Worthy Be Patrick Mahomes’ WR1 in 2024?
Worthy will be a mainstay in the Chiefs’ offense from the get-go. He played four of six snaps with Kansas City’s starters in the team’s first preseason game and was on the field for 15 of 18 plays with Mahomes on Saturday.
The Chiefs are replacing Marquez Valdes-Scantling, who signed with the Buffalo Bills during the offseason. While he only received 21 targets, MVS led Kansas City’s wideouts with 446 routes in 2023.
MORE: Simulate the NFL Season With PFN’s Playoff Predictor
Worthy’s starting role became even more secure when offseason addition Hollywood Brown suffered a sternoclavicular injury in the Chiefs’ preseason opener. Brown is expected to be sidelined for four to six weeks, putting his availability for the Chiefs’ Week 1 game against the Baltimore Ravens in doubt.
Still, although Worthy should be on the field for nearly every snap, he’ll have to fight 2023 second-rounder Rashee Rice for looks in the passing game. The NFL still hasn’t met with Rice and seems likely to wait for his criminal case to conclude before considering a suspension.
Rice earned 79 targets last season, second among Chiefs pass catchers behind tight end Travis Kelce. No other Kansas City wide receiver received more than 28 targets.
Over the past decade, only six rookie receivers earned a higher on-field target share than Rice’s 25.9%, per TruMedia.
Rice was a historic target-earner as a second-round rookie NFL WR. Worthy is faster and more explosive, but Rice presents a legitimate challenge to the rookie’s Year 1 production.
Since 2000, only two wide receivers chosen in the back half of the first round have posted 1,000+ yards as a rookie: Justin Jefferson (2020) and Kelvin Benjamin (2014). Will Worthy become the third in 2024?
