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Andy Reid Confident in Xavier Worthy’s Continued Growth: ‘He’s a Quick Learner’
Xavier Worthy will have to continue to increase his workload in the Chiefs’ offense in light of KC’s injury woes. The good news? Worthy is familiar with the concept of getting up to speed.
Late in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft, the Kansas City Chiefs traded up to select Texas wide receiver Xavier Worthy, jumping from No. 32 to the No. 28 overall pick to land the young speedster. Worthy joined a then-loaded wide receiver room where he was supposed to have the luxury of learning the position behind Rashee Rice and Marquise “Hollywood” Brown as he became acclimated to the Chiefs’ offense. Instead, with Rice out for the year and Brown sidelined for at least the vast majority of the season, Worthy now finds himself as Kansas City’s most talented healthy receiver.
In Week 5 against the New Orleans Saints, Worthy and JuJu Smith-Schuster each took 56 of 84 offensive snaps (67%) while Justin Watson led receivers with 59 (70%). The Chiefs’ only other active receivers, Mecole Hardman and Skyy Moore, took eight and six offensive snaps, respectively.
Smith-Schuster led the Chiefs in receiving while Watson did not receive a target. Worthy was targeted six times, hauling in three catches for 25 yards. Worthy also drew a pass interference penalty that resulted in a 46-yard gain and had one carry for a three-yard touchdown, his second rushing score of the season. As the room thinned out, Worthy continued to see the field despite a notoriously steep rookie learning curve for wide receivers in head coach Andy Reid’s offense. With the team’s bye week now behind them, how much more can Worthy shoulder in his rookie campaign, and what has he shown to the coaching staff so far?
On Monday, Reid was asked about his assessment of how Worthy has progressed through the first several weeks of his rookie season.
“I think Xavier’s done a nice job for us,” Reid said. “He does a lot of things there for us, a lot of different positions. We’ve got flexibility with him to move him around. He’s a quick learner, which helps in this offense, so I’m happy with what we’ve got so far, and I don’t think we’ve tapped that out at all. He’ll keep getting better […] and that’s exciting.”
So far this season, Worthy has hauled in 12 catches on 21 targets along with six carries, totaling 18 touches for 221 yards from scrimmage and four total touchdowns through five games. If KC had Rice and Brown healthy, there would be no concern whatsoever about how Worthy has progressed in Kansas City. However, even if KC were to look to add another pass catcher before the NFL’s trade deadline, Worthy will have to continue to increase his role in the way he typically moves: fast.
