Worthy makes most of opportunities against Lions
By Jacob Meikel
Chiefs rookie wide receiver Xavier Worthy got his chance to shine in Saturday’s preseason game against the Lions.
The first round pick for the Chiefs in 2024 was a premiere target for the team in the 24-23 loss to Detroit, leading the way with six targets in the game. With the opportunities abundant, Worthy made the most of them.
Despite not seeing any targets in last weekend’s preseason loss to the Jaguars in limited playing time, Worthy was able to haul in his first pass as a Chief on Saturday in a way that one would expect for the former Texas Longhorn. In the first quarter, the speedster Worthy was sent streaking down the field toward the left sideline and able to free himself for quarterback Patrick Mahomes to find him for a 39-yard gain. The completion exemplified the element to the offense Worthy is expected to bring to the Chiefs with his 4.21 40-yard dash speed that he was clocked for at the 2024 NFL Scouting Combine.
“It’s gonna help everybody in the entire offense,” Mahomes said. “Having [Worthy], having Hollywood, having Rashee be able to break loose and so it opens up the entire offense, which is something that I think will be big for us this year.”
Mahomes acknowledged after last weekend’s game against the Jaguars that the first play of the game was actually designed to get the ball to Worthy. Instead, the ball ended up in the hands of newcomer Hollywood Brown, who caught a pass for a first down, but was injured on the play and did not return. Now that Brown is currently dealing with a shoulder injury that puts his status for Week 1 against Baltimore up in the air, Worthy finds himself in a position to see more opportunities within the starting offense, and it showed on Saturday.
Worthy would then go on to score his first touchdown as a Chief on a 22-yard pass from backup quarterback Carson Wentz later in the first quarter.
It’s unclear how much we’ll see of the Chiefs starting offense on Thursday’s preseason finale against the Chicago Bears at home. In the past, head coach Andy Reid has gradually allowed more and more playing time for the starting offense and defense as the preseason has progressed.
