Chiefs Second-Year Wide Receiver Xavier Worthy Poised For 2025 Breakout Season

Discover Xavier Worthy’s 2025 fantasy football outlook as the Kansas City Chiefs’ speedy rookie aims for a breakout season.

Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Xavier Worthy (1) dives for a touchdown against Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin (3) during the first half in the AFC Championship game at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Kansas City’s first-round pick in 2024, Xavier Worthy, brings elite 4.2-speed and big-play potential to a dynamic Chiefs offense. After a promising rookie campaign highlighted by a strong second half and Super Bowl performance, Worthy projects as a mid-tier WR2 in 2025 with upside.

Xavier Worthy, Kansas City Chiefs

Kansas City invested its 28th selection in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft on Worthy. He brings blazing speed (4.2 40-yard dash) to the Chiefs’ offense while lacking the bulk (165 lbs.) to match his height (5’11”). His vision grades well, and Worthy will command attention in the deep passing game. He will struggle to get off the line in tight press coverage, which will diminish his value in the red zone early in his career.

Over three seasons at Texas, Worthy caught 197 passes for 2,755 yards and 26 touchdowns on 342 targets (57.6% catch rate). Based on his yards per catch (14.0), there is another layer to his game closer to the line of scrimmage. In 2023, Worthy gained more than 100 yards in only two games (8/108 and 10/137). His best value in touchdowns (12) came in his freshman season.

In his rookie year, Worthy teases in Week 1 (2/68/2 on three targets – 21 of his yards came on a rushing score). The Chiefs struggled to get him going over their next eight matchups (18/199/2 on 40 targets), while giving him some chances in the run game (8/16/1). Other than his one-snap game (rest) in Week 18, Worthy was a much better player over his final 11 starts (58/754/7 on 76 targets), highlighted by his best showing in the Super Bowl (8/157/2).

He finished 33rd in wide receiver scoring (188.20) in PPR formats, with four other outcomes (20.80, 20.50, 22.90, and 22.10) of 20.00 fantasy points or more. Worthy had eight targets or more in six contests. To increase his value, Kansas City featured close to the line of scrimmage, highlighted by his yards per catch (10.8). He only has one catch of 40 yards or more in the regular season.

Xavier Worthy Fantasy Football Outlook

The return of Rashee Rice and the development of Worthy should lead to the Chiefs being more dynamic on offense this year. He projects to be the third option in their passing games, which delivered these results over the past three seasons (2022 – 56/512/9, 2023 – 44/244/2, and 2024 – 41/437/4). 

Patrick Mahomes likes to spread the ball around, which has been partly due to questionable depth at wide receiver, resulting in the running back ranking 3rd in catches twice over the past three years. I expect Worthy to push his output to about 70 catches for over 1,000 yards with at least 10 touchdowns, giving him mid-tier WR2 value.