Xavier Worthy‘s NFL debut justified the preseason hype that was building around him.
Just don’t count Bengals cornerback Cam Taylor-Britt among his supporters.
“Speed. That’s about it. He can run straight,” Taylor-Britt said of Worthy on Wednesday. “Run jet sweeps and just run straight. Can’t do too much else. That’s about it. I feel like you put your hands on him — he’s only 100-something pounds — you put hands on him, you’ll stop the speed. So basically get hands on him.”
Worthy made waves in the football world by breaking the 40-yard dash record at the 2024 NFL Scouting Combine, posting a blazing 4.21-second sprint that inspired a memorable reaction from fans at Lucas Oil Stadium in March. Since then, he’s been known as a speedster capable of stretching the field for the Chiefs, potentially providing an element they’ve lacked since the departure of Tyreek Hill.
His first outing gave fans a glimpse of what could be, taking an end around down the numbers on the right side of the field, knifing through the Ravens defense at top speed for a 21-yard touchdown. His second trip to the end zone was even easier, sprinting past Ravens corner Marlon Humphrey into a wide-open area of the field before catching a pass from Patrick Mahomes for a 35-yard score.
The second score was a result of broken coverage, not Worthy’s elite speed. But that didn’t quell the hype, and it’s clear the Bengals — a recent rival of the Chiefs — aren’t interested in feeding the machine.
That doesn’t matter to the Chiefs, who already understand what Worthy could be for their offense, which had steadily minimized its big-play potential over the last few years. If anything, Worthy is what they’ve been missing, and they’re excited by what he could bring.
“I think it’s just going to be a spark. It shows what he (Worthy) can do,” Mahomes said Wednesday. “Obviously, it showed his speed. It showed how he’s able to run routes and find open spaces. It just kind of gives him that confidence. I think he already had it anyways, but to show that he can do it on Sundays or whatever day of the week that we’re playing.
“It’s just kind of a start for him. We want him to keep building. We want to get him more and more involved in the offense, but a great start.”
Worthy’s final stat line wasn’t overly remarkable. He caught two passes (on three targets) for 47 yards, including the 35-yard score. He finished with three touches for 68 yards and two touchdowns, an example of excellent efficiency.
Expect to see more of Worthy in the weeks ahead, starting with Kansas City’s Sunday afternoon date with Cincinnati.
“He did a nice job for us,” coach Andy Reid said Wednesday of Worthy. “Again, even with his size he was willing to get in the mix of the run game part of it. Having the success he had I think is a positive for a young guy to get going.
“Are you guaranteed two touchdowns every game? That’s not necessarily in the contract but it was great for him to get started that way. He knows that he can play at this level now and if he had any questions — I didn’t sense he had any questions — but if he did, those were answered.”
Answered indeed. Next up: Making Taylor-Britt eat his words. We’ll see what Reid has planned for Worthy this weekend.
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