Kansas City Chiefs rookie wide receiver Xavier Worthy was outstanding in Wednesday's blowout 29-10 Week 17 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers. Worthy recorded season-highs in receptions (eight) and receiving yards (79) with a touchdown via nine targets. He continues to show improvement and appears poised to be a big-time contributor throughout the upcoming postseason.
Worthy opened the scoring through a seven-yard touchdown catch in the first quarter. The No. 28 overall selection in the 2024 NFL Draft lined up in the backfield on 2nd-and-4 and took a short dump-off pass from Patrick Mahomes into the end zone. It marked his second consecutive outing with a touchdown.
Xavier Worthy gets the Christmas scoring started ‼️#KCvsPIT on @Netflix pic.twitter.com/MzEGMz0p4K
— NFL (@NFL) December 25, 2024
That represented Worthy's ninth touchdown of the season (six receiving, three rushing). Only four wide receivers in the entire league have scored more touchdowns this campaign. Worthy is tied with Mike Evans in end-zone visits, and he trails Justin Jefferson by one score. It captures how special he's been this season.
Chiefs head coach Andy Reid has shown a consistent effort throughout the season to get Worthy involved via manufactured touches. The rookie wideout is beginning to peak as the regular season winds down. With the playoffs beginning to loom, Worthy is following the Rashee Rice development path, which is outstanding news for a Chiefs team trying to execute the three-peat.
After playing a deep rotational role throughout the early portion of the season, Worthy began breaking out against the Buffalo Bills in Week 11 and he hasn't slowed down since. In Kansas City's latest seven outings, the former Texas standout has recorded 39 catches on 55 targets for 392 yards and four touchdowns. Worthy is averaging an effective 56 receiving yards and 5.57 receptions per game throughout this stretch.
Mike Tomlin’s secondary showed Worthy legitimate respect throughout Wednesday’s contest. Fearing his deep speed, they afforded him 7.3 yards of cushion in coverage on his targets, according to Next Gen Stats. And Worthy consistently created separation, averaging 5.1 yards of distance between himself and the nearest defender on his intended targets.
Worthy has been a yards-after-catch machine all season long. On Wednesday, he averaged an explosive 9.0 yards after catch per reception, 2.6 above his expected yards after catch per reception (xYAC/R) of 6.4. Worthy now ranks among the top 15 receivers in the NFL in generating post-catch opportunities for himself.
Kansas City's offense arguably looked as effective as it's been this season on Wednesday. The 29 points scored was their third-highest of the campaign, one point off matching their previous season-high total (30, twice). Mahomes threw three touchdowns and zero interceptions for just the second occurrence this season. With a healthy Marquise Brown and an improved Worthy in the fold, the Chiefs' offense is peaking at the opportune moment.
Worthy began his rookie campaign slowly acclimating to professional football while making a minimal impact. Weekly growth has been evident for a Chiefs offense that's beginning to fire on all cylinders. Worthy will be a productive weapon for Reid and Mahomes throughout the postseason.
