Knack and Desire for Improvement Has Rookie Xavier Worthy Leading Chiefs' WR Room

When the Kansas City Chiefs selected Xavier Worthy in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft, they likely envisioned someone who could be a leading wide receiver for years to come. With the AFC championship game against the Buffalo Bills set for Sunday, it's safe to say they have him as one of their core pieces firmly entrenched in the lineup.

That wasn't always tracking to be the case, though, which might make the journey even more satisfying for everyone involved. Early in Worthy's debut campaign, he put up several quiet statistical efforts and wasn't fitting what Kansas City asked him to do. Over time, he got more and more confident in his abilities and really began to take off. It was a slow-burning developmental arc that took a bit longer than Rashee Rice as a rookie but contained some similar ebbs and flows.

Ironically, many in the Chiefs building have alluded to Week 11's regular-season matchup versus this very Buffalo squad as the one that got Worthy going. Now that he's playing his best football at the perfect time, head coach Andy Reid took a moment to explain what – and who – got him to this point.

"He's gotten better every week," Reid said. "He's more familiar, Pat [Mahomes] is more familiar with him, he's more familiar with the offense and what Pat expects from him. [Wide receivers coach] Connor [Embree] has done a nice job of spending time with him to make sure he's got all the different looks. The main thing is he's wired the way where he wants to be good, and that's a big part of it. He wants to know and [doesn't] let his ego get in the way or any of that. And he's got good teachers in there. You're in a room with 8 [DeAndre Hopkins] and 9 [JuJu Smith-Schuster] and 84 [Justin Watson]. I mean, those guys have played a lot of football, and they're willing to share. That's a heck of a room to be in."

Building on what Reid said, Patrick Mahomes points to Worthy's approach and consistent work ethic as two big factors in building trust within the offense. He's a quick and thorough learner.

"I think just repetition and then just seeing how he works every single day," Mahomes said. "He's a guy that works extremely hard, practices extremely hard and the more chances and opportunities I've given him, he's kind of taken them and ran with him. Just like the one down the sideline early in the game, just putting the ball up there in a one-on-one matchup and letting him make a play. I'm excited for how he's progressed throughout the season. Hopefully, we can progress for a few more games and that'll be a taking off point for next year."

Prior to the Week 11 meeting in Orchard Park, Worthy averaged right around five targets per game but yielded just two receptions for 27 yards on a weekly basis. From Week 11 through the end of the regular season, his target share spiked to eight per game with 5.6 receptions and 56 yards per outing accompanying that production. According to NFL Pro data, Worthy's average yards per target went from 11.3 air yards during the first 13 weeks of the regular season to 4.5 since then. He's doing more damage closer to the line of scrimmage but is now adding in snags like this one:

It's been a pleasure watching the growth of Xavier Worthy this season. He's only touching the surface. pic.twitter.com/8XYhZ6uXZe
— Mark Gunnels (@MarkAGunnels) January 19, 2025

Breaking Worthy down a bit assisted in building him back up. If the recent past is even remotely a predictor of the future, Worthy and Rice will be the team's top two receivers a year from now and the aforementioned vision will come to life.

Read More: Joe Thuney Discusses Move to Left Tackle, Bills' Best Challenges for AFC Championship Game