Chiefs Backing Xavier Worthy Despite Early Struggles: 'He'll Be Fine'

Despite getting out to a 2-0 start and scoring plenty of points in the process, the Kansas City Chiefs' offense still has numerous things to sort out. That certainly also applies to the wide receiver room, which has featured Xavier Worthy in a prominent role to this point.

The former first-round pick has gotten a fair share of chances to justify his draft slot, particularly in the first two weeks of his third season. Unfortunately, he's struggled to do so in the early stages of the 2026-27 campaign.

Is that presenting Kansas City with cause for concern that Worthy can't be the player it planned for? Speaking to the media on Wednesday, head coach Andy Reid turned the volume down several notches by implying that Worthy is close to breaking through.

"You know, he had an opportunity for that big catch — it was close, man," Reid said. "You're probably not asking that one [if he catches it]. He's fine. He's just got to keep rolling here. He's coming off the shoulder part of it and working through all that. He'll be fine as we go."

On the surface, it looks like Worthy is faring just fine. Two games into the year, he's already up to 13 targets, eight receptions and a touchdown. It's the quality of this production, though, that's been poor. He has all of 43 receiving yards to his name thus far and has consistently failed to make defenders miss or showcase the elite speed and quickness that got him selected 28th overall back in 2024.

The deep-developing play Reid mentioned was a first-and-10 shot in the third quarter of a close game against the Indianapolis Colts. A 26-yard heave from quarterback Patrick Mahomes got to Worthy as intended, but he couldn't complete the catch through a hit. Another contact-related shortcoming occurred in the first quarter of play of Week 2's Sunday Night Football triumph.

Patrick Mahomes’ EPA/target on 20+ air yard throws by WR since 2023 (min. 10 targets):

1. Rashee Rice, +0.87
2. Tyquan Thornton, +0.87
3. Marquise Brown, +0.55
4. Justin Watson, +0.19
5. MVS, +0.04
6. Xavier Worthy, +0.02
— Tej Seth (@tejfbanalytics) September 21, 2026

Even with the Worthy hype train slowing down or coming to a complete halt for many, Mahomes isn't among that group. He's going to keep feeding his talented receiver and plan for the results to eventually arrive.

"Yeah, I think you just try to continue to work it," Mahomes said. "He's getting open, he's making the right reads down the field. Just like the one that we fired in there, it's just making a tough contested catch. I've seen him make that play before, so I'll continue to fire it. It's not like he's not doing his job the right way, it's just about going out there and finishing it whenever he gets the opportunity."

Advanced metrics depict what's been a rough couple of weeks for Worthy. On top of having a 60.7 passer rating when targeted, he's managed just 1.1 yards before catch per reception. According to SumerSports, among 59 wideouts with 50-plus routes run, he's 54th in yards per route (0.57) and 52nd in total EPA (1.99). Via NFL Pro, the former Texas star owns a -12.1% catch rate over expected and has -9 yards after catch over expected.

No matter how you slice it, Worthy hasn't lived up to the billing of a dominant snap-eater or someone whom the offense can be funneled through. Perhaps that changes, but each passing week without a statement game sends the wrong kind of message.

With that said, Reid and Mahomes remain hopeful.

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