I loved the pick. Unabashedly loved it.
“He’s fast, he’s productive, and he’s going to add the element this offense has been missing.”
That was my initial impression when the Kansas City Chiefs drafted wide receiver Xavier Worthy in the first round.
That was not necessarily the consensus. Some national analysts panned the selection because he was more of the same for the Chiefs’ receiver room, with too many small, gadget-type receivers. I rejected the notion. This would be different. Andy Reid selected
him in the first round for a reason. He clearly had a plan.
That appeared to be the case, at least in year one. After a slow start — 20 receptions in his first 9 games — Worthy was thrust into action in the second half of his rookie year. He became the team’s leading receiver in the second half of the season after Rashee Rice went down to injury. Worthy racked up nearly 400 yards in his final seven regular-season games. That seemed to offer a glimpse of what was to come.
But then he ran into tight end Travis Kelce on a crossing route in the first game of the 2025 season, and everything changed. His shoulder became an issue. He missed a couple of games. An ankle injury also held him back. He finished the 2025 campaign with barely 500 receiving yards and only one touchdown.
It was a frustrating season, marred by injury.
The Chiefs spent the offseason telling anyone who would listen that this year would be different. Worthy would be healthy, and we would see a return to the player we watched in the second half of the 2024 campaign. I was optimistic. This would be the year he proved the doubters wrong, once and for all.
I’m still waiting for that to happen.
Worthy doesn’t look like the confident player he was in the second half of his rookie year. He’s shying away from contact. He’s not strong at the catch point. He’s not beating defenders to the corner. I’m struggling to understand how to use a player who doesn’t win deep, doesn’t play with the physicality needed to win across the middle, and can’t break tackles to win after the catch.
What’s the proper usage for such a wide receiver? That seems to be the question the Chiefs are asking, too. I hope the Chiefs find that answer sooner rather than later.
This offense looks like a legitimate contender. Running back Kenneth Walker has added an explosive element the Chiefs have been lacking for years. Quarterback Patrick Mahomes looks as confident as he has in his supporting cast since 2022. Kelce is rejuvenated. Wideout Tyquan Thornton is a legitimate deep threat. Receiver Rashee Rice is working his way back to prime form.
If Worthy can return to his second-half 2024 form, this group is cooking with gas.
Can he get back to that form, though? That remains to be seen. The history of first-round wide receivers who have produced like Worthy through two-plus seasons is less than ideal.
60 wide receivers were selected in the first round between 2011 & 2025. Worthy ranks 32nd among them in receptions, 38th in receiving yards and 33rd in receiving touchdowns through his first 33 games. By volume, none of those statistics are particularly alarming.
The efficiency is where the trends are far more worrisome.
Worthy is targeted at roughly the average rate among the 60 wide receivers selected in the first round over the past 15 years, but he’s produced fewer yards per target than nearly any other receiver on the list.
His 6.6 yards per target is through his first 33 career regular season games ranks 51st among that group. The only other first-round wide receivers over that stretch to average fewer than 7 yards per reception through 33 career regular season games are Kevin White, Garrett Wilson, Josh Doctson, A.J. Jenkins, Nelson Agholor, John Ross, Kadarius Toney, Jalen Reagor, Xavier Leggette, Breshad Perriman, Cordarreelle Patterson, Tavon Austin, N’Keal Harry, Laquon Treadwell, Corey Coleman and Jonathan Baldwin.
Uh oh.
That’s not a group you want to be included in. It’s a who’s who of wide receiver busts over the past decade-plus. It’s especially worrisome that Worthy is producing like this with a future Hall of Fame coach and quarterback. Most receivers who overcame poor early-career efficiency (Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Malik Nabers, and Garrett Wilson) were dealing with a poorly designed offensive scheme, a below-average quarterback situation, or both. That excuse or explanation doesn’t apply to Worthy.
The only reason I’m holding out hope my priors are correct on Worthy is the injuries. Maybe the first couple of weeks are a blip on the radar. Maybe he’ll have a second half similar to his rookie year. Maybe he’s still tentative after playing through so many ailments last season, and it’ll just take time to get himself right.
Maybe. Hopefully.
The Chiefs offense doesn’t need Worthy to step up the way it once did. But it sure would be nice if he could. I’m still holding out hope, but patience is running thin.
