Xavier Worthy Satisfies Chiefs' Need For Speed

December 25th, 2023. The Kansas City Chiefs faced off against the Las Vegas Raiders on Christmas Day in front of the entire country at home for the holiday. While the season hadn’t gone the way they expected to this point, they had an opportunity to get right against a Raiders team that Patrick Mahomes was 10-1 against in his career. 

The Raiders had other plans. 

On the heels of two defensive touchdowns, the Raiders beat the Chiefs 20-14. A true representation of their season to that point with the offense struggling and the defense doing their part, the Chiefs hit rock bottom. 

They reworked the offense to fit what they had, and the rest is history. While the result—a Super Bowl victory—was what they were striving for, how they got there wasn’t something they wanted to face again. 

It was time for a change. 

They wanted to inject game-breaking speed into the offense. It's not just any kind of speed either. Marquez Valdes Scantling had speed but it was build-up speed that could be easily countered and he was released in the offseason and signed with the Buffalo Bills. 

The Chiefs signed Marquise Brown to a one-year, $7 million deal and traded up with the Buffalo Bills in the 2024 NFL Draft to draft Xavier Worthy, a wide receiver from Texas, with the 28th pick. The fastest player to ever run a 40-yard dash at the NFL Combine, Worthy blazed a 4.21 second time and etched his name into the record books. This was the speed Kansas City was after. 

On opening night against the Baltimore Ravens, the Chiefs wanted to put the NFL on alert with their shiny new toy. They got their wish. 

Worthy is more than a schemed-touch player, but taking an end around for a touchdown and barely being touched is a statement. They made this look like a counter run with Trey Smith and Noah Gray “pulling” and then Gray does the whirlybird and is a lead blocker on the end around. 

Worthy’s speed impact is felt across the Kansas City passing game. While they wanted to make a statement, plugging Worthy into the offense will naturally stretch the defense and create more space in the middle of the field.  

The middle of the field has been Travis Kelce territory for years, but as defenses played more two-high safeties, exploiting underneath has become key for the Chiefs’ offense. Rashee Rice motions to the No. 1 option on the right side from the bunch. Watson and Worthy switch release, which widens the defense vertically, and Worthy releases inside and then gets vertical. This action moves Roquan Smith because he has to carry Worthy vertically initially. That creates a ton of room for Rice underneath to angle across Smith’s face for a big play. 

That’s a small detail, but it impacts the overall outcome of the play. The Chiefs are utilizing Worthy as more than just a schemed-touch merchant. That role will grow as the season continues, but in the meantime, the Chiefs will have fun creating holes in defenses with his speed.

Here’s another creative look from the Chiefs offense coming out in 12 personnel, but having Noah Gray and Travis Kelce in the backfield. Worthy, with the inside release, takes it 15 yards vertical then hits the corner. The Chiefs flood the right side of the defense with outside threats at different levels with Kelce in the middle, bringing defensive gravity (attention) with him. Mahomes checks the right first and paired with Worthy’s deep route, brings both safeties deep and with Worthy. Meanwhile, Justin Watson runs a backside dig and sits in the space created. Mahomes sidesteps the free rusher and delivers the ball to Watson for another chunk gain. 

The excitement surrounding Worthy has just begun and the full picture still has to materialize for the Chiefs offense and how they’ll use Worthy and Brown together when the latter is healthy. He’s not Tyreek Hill. No one is, but he’s an underrated route-runner with a high football IQ and is a tough player that the Chiefs wanted in Kansas City. It’ll be entertaining to see how they use him every week and how his route tree develops as the season continues. 

If there’s one piece of advice to give to every NFL defense it’s this: Don’t blow a coverage. The Ravens found out why.