Chiefs Want This Key Receiver To Step Into A Larger Role

The Kansas City Chiefs emphasized getting more from receiver Xavier Worthy in training camp, and it’s finally starting to happen. The proof in the pudding was the game plan for Sunday’s 22-6 win over the Los Angeles Chargers, which had Worthy featured early and often. 

Quarterback Patrick Mahomes made his first passing attempt to Worthy, and his role increased as the game went on when tight end Travis Kelce tweaked his ankle in the first quarter. 

Worthy went on to have his best game of the season with seven receptions for 73 yards, and his production was badly needed with receivers Tyquan Thornton and Rashee Rice out with injuries. 

Worthy caught five passes in a row from Mahomes, and he said, “it doesn’t get any better than that,” in a piece written by Nate Taylor of ESPN. He went on to talk about how that initial burst gave him the confidence to keep going and have a strong game, and the plan could be more of the same against the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday night. 

The Chiefs have been trying to harness Worthy’s speed for years, but last year they couldn’t do that. The receiver sustained a shoulder injury early, and coach Andy Reid admitted that the Chiefs had to adjust his routes accordingly. 

This was the knock on Worthy coming out of Texas. He’s slender, and many scouts and evaluators wondered how he would hold up if he was hit a lot going over the middle. 

But Reid doesn’t buy into that. He described Worthy as “tough” and “smart,” and he can run shallow crosses in addition to deep routes. Worthy is also sure-handed, and Taylor used some expected stat metrics to verify that. 

Worthy and Mahomes are also still getting back on the same page as Mahomes returns from knee surgery. Taylor described a play against the Denver Broncos in Week 1 where Worthy ran past two receivers, hoping the quarterback would make a deep throw, but Mahomes threw to where Worthy would have been on an intermediate route where the ball was intercepted. 

Worthy noted that it was a new play that wasn’t that familiar to him, and he said he’s still “building momemtum.” The receiver’s goal is now to have the first 100-yard game of his career, but he’s happy to have the day he had against LA and get the win that made the Chiefs 5-0. 

The Chiefs have been riding running back Kenneth Walker III so far, though, and that will likely be the formula until opponents figure out a way to stop it.