When the Kansas City Chiefs drafted receiver Xavier Worthy there was a thought that he could develop into quite the weapon for Patrick Mahomes.
Armed with blistering 4.21 speed, Worthy can fly down the field, but through the first nine games of the year, Xavier has been a little hit-and-miss. Totaling 20 receptions for 246 yards and three touchdowns is nothing to sneeze at, but Worthy hasn't consistently been featured in the offense.
His last two outings have netted him just one catch for 11 yards, but while those stats point to a player who isn't getting it done, offensive coordinator Matt Nagy highlights what Xavier does for the other players on offense while also giving a rather scary warning about the rookie.
"I really like where he's at," Nagy said. "Statistically, the numbers aren't really where a lot of people will want them or any of us, you'd like, but he's been fine. You see some of the shots that we've taken and the stuff underneath is there, so we just got to be patient working through it. For Xavier to learn this offense, it's not easy but we have ultimate confidence. Xavier has been in a phenomenal mindset this entire time, and I think that's probably most important because the time is coming when we start hitting some of those, and it's going to be fun."
"The time is coming."
With the Chiefs sitting at 9-0 and not really having Worthy as the deep threat many envisioned, only having one catch of 50+ yards, but the rookie is setting up things for others.
Such is his speed, defenses sink back into coverage, and that allows Travis Kelce and the like to go about their work underneath. So, as Nagy stated, it isn't all about stats with Worthy.
But perhaps the scary thing is that he is confident that the deep bombs will soon be a feature of the offense, with Worthy slowly but surely going to be on the end of some highlight reel plays.
