The Kansas City Chiefs have been desperately searching for a downfield threat ever since wide receiver Tyreek Hill chose tax-free sunshine over championship rings.
That pursuit of speed has been one of the few mistakes that Chiefs general manager Brett Veach has made while constructing Kansas City’s dynasty over the past eight years. The first misstep came when Kansas City traded up to select wide receiver Mecole Hardman in the second round of the 2019 NFL Draft. Hardman seemed to be the most similar prospect to Hill, who was facing a potential suspension for off-field incidents at the time. Kansas City burned a second-round pick on Western Michigan wide receiver Skyy Moore in the following draft, then attempted to replace Hill’s agility with twitchy wide receiver Kadarius Toney. Each time, the experiments have failed.
In April, Veach was reminded that the Chiefs could have selected wide receiver D.K. Metcalf instead of trading up for Hardman in 2019. Veach expressed regret about missing out on Metcalf, but then he proceeded to repeat the mistake a few days later. The Chiefs traded up four spots to select Texas wide receiver Xavier Worthy with the No. 28 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.
Worthy drew national attention after his record-breaking 40-yard dash of 4.21 seconds at the NFL Scouting Combine, but his production has left a lot to be desired this season. Chiefs offensive coordinator Matt Nagy admitted in November that Worthy’s numbers “aren’t really where a lot of people would want them, or any of us,” per The Kansas City Star.
The rookie has flashed his speed throughout the season, but he hasn’t been able to connect with Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes even when he’s gotten past the secondary.
Mahomes has completed just four out of 14 pass attempts to Worthy that traveled over 20-plus air yards, per NFL Next Gen Stats. Two of those passes were intercepted, while the remaining eight fell incomplete.
After a narrow 16-14 victory over the Denver Broncos in Week 10, Mahomes expressed confidence that he’d be able to develop some chemistry with Worthy.
“I feel like if I hit those shots, the offense looks completely different — not only for those numbers and those stats, but it opens up everything else for everybody else,” Mahomes said. “Just trying to get back to that. He’s getting open every single game. … I have the confidence I’ll be able to hit him on some of those shots down the field.”
Four weeks have gone by since that statement, and the chemistry still appears to be lacking.
Worthy doesn’t deserve all of the blame, as Mahomes’ has displayed sloppy footwork and mechanics throughout the 2024 season. The three-time Super Bowl MVP has completed just nine of his 27 deep pass attempts to all targets this season.
Worthy has played 63 percent of the Chiefs’ offensive snaps this season, most among the team’s depleted wide receiver corps. Despite all of the playing time, Worthy has recorded just 33 receptions for 407 yards and four touchdowns. He’s also added 49 rushing yards and two scores on 11 carries.
