How Chiefs are addressing the biggest challenges facing Xavier Worthy in Year 1
It’s always best to start with the caveats: This was just one play Thursday in Kansas City Chiefs training camp. The defense was also in Cover 0 with no safety help, which meant it was more vulnerable to a deep pass.
Those actualities aren’t likely to stop the hype surrounding Xavier Worthy’s latest highlight, as he burned past Chiefs safety Bryan Cook to catch a 50-yard touchdown reception from quarterback Patrick Mahomes.
The deep passes remain notable because they were mostly absent a year ago. Last year, Mahomes was statistically the worst quarterback in the league on long throws, with most of the blame falling on the offensive pieces around him.
Worthy’s catch on Thursday only continued KC’s pattern of showing itself more capable in this area during training camp.
While also reiterating what the first-round pick Worthy could be for the Chiefs ... if given enough space.
Another clip of Worthy from Saturday’s practice also made the rounds on social media, for different reasons. Cornerback Joshua Williams shoved Worthy off the line of scrimmage to throw him off-balance. That sent the receiver directly into linebacker Drue Tranquill, who threw a shoulder into Worthy to knock him to the ground.
Again, just one snap in a long string of training camp practices.
But it did spotlight at least one concern regarding the Chiefs’ 5-foot-11, 165-pound wideout: Will he be able to play through contact in the NFL?
Chiefs offensive coordinator Matt Nagy addressed that topic Thursday. One critical part for Worthy will be getting a “free release” off the line, meaning he’ll be able to start his route unobstructed without a defender getting his hands on him.
Accomplish that, and Worthy can better play to his top-end speed.
“He has to understand at this level, teams try to do everything they can to knock you off your timing,” Nagy said. “Timing is so critical and important.”
Part of Worthy’s learning process, then, will involve using his quick-twitch skills right after the snap to try to free himself from any defender trying to jam him up.
Nagy says the Chiefs’ staff, though, will also have some responsibility in this part of the game. He says a “fun part” of coaching is devising ways for receivers to run free after the snap, which for the Chiefs in the past have involved using motion or mixing up formations.
Perhaps it shouldn’t be surprising — given the difference in those two Worthy video clips from the past week — that Nagy says the rookie receiver has “done great” recently while still in a development stage.
Worthy missed all of the summer’s organized team activities and mandatory minicamp with a hamstring injury, which put him a bit behind. It’s part of why Nagy said he’s tried to focus on incremental progress with Worthy.
“I think it’s important for myself to make sure that he understands that this is not going to be a race to the finish line in a week or two,” Nagy said. “Like, this is something that’s going to happen over time.”
Nagy also has drawn on his past to put things in perspective for Worthy.
He has specifically mentioned two examples from his time as head coach of the Chicago Bears: receiver Darnell Mooney and running back David Montgomery.
Mooney was first with Nagy in 2020, catching 61 passes for 631 yards during his rookie season. That led to a breakout the following year, when he had 81 receptions for 1,055 yards — a top-20 mark in the league.
Similarly, Montgomery had 1,074 scrimmage yards with the Bears in his rookie year (2019) before surpassing 1,500 his next season.
Both Mooney and Montgomery, Nagy says, were comparable to Worthy because they worked hard early and expected results immediately.
The message to Worthy, then, has been to be patient and not get frustrated. Nagy believes that the process will be good for Worthy in the end if he keeps looking toward the big picture.
“His attitude has been phenomenal. We knew the person and the kid is great; he’s got a great attitude,” Nagy said. “So just putting it all together now and taking it and running with it.”
Nagy said he’s appreciated having his three top receivers on the field during recent practices: Worthy, Hollywood Brown and Rashee Rice. He especially complimented them for their ability to track passes in the air while taking accurate routes to the ball.
“It’s important that the three of those guys get together, and we can just move them around like different pieces to the puzzle,” Nagy said. “And then they’ve got to make plays.”
Worthy had the flashy one in Thursday’s practice, leaving Cook a few yards behind him.
The safety said that going against the Chiefs’ speedy receivers will only benefit the defense long-term.
“It’s definitely a lot of work on our back end, but every day, we keep grinding,” Cook said. “We get a chance to compete with them on the highest level.”
