Chiefs WR Xavier Worthy stands to benefit most from rookie early arrival at training camp

The Kansas City Chiefs will soon have rookies and quarterbacks report to Missouri Western State University in St. Joseph, Missouri for the team's 2024 NFL training camp.

These players will get a three-day headstart on practices before the entire 90-man offseason roster arrives ahead of the team's first open practice on Sunday, July 21. One of those players expected to participate during that time frame stands to benefit heads and shoulders above the rest of the players in attendance. That player is none other than rookie WR Xavier Worthy.

Worthy sat out the majority of OTAs and mandatory minicamp with a hamstring injury. The Chiefs made the call to proceed with an abundance of caution to ensure that the rookie was healthy for the most important stretch of the offseason — training camp — where the foundation for the 2024 NFL season will be laid.

Worthy is expected to be ready to go for Chiefs training camp

After missing all but 1.5 practices during Phase III of the offseason workout program, Worthy is expected to be ready to make his return to the practice fields at Missouri Western State University this week.

The No. 28 overall pick in the 2024 NFL draft has already resumed training on his own in the period between mandatory minicamp and training camp. He has recently been working with renowned private WR/TE skills coach Delfonte Diamond, preparing himself ahead of the Chiefs' upcoming training camp.

If all goes according to plan, Worthy should be back on the field and picking up right where he left off. Why is the headstart so important for the first-rounder, though? Worthy missed a lot of the portion of the offseason where timing and chemistry are built between quarterbacks and receivers. He'll need to make up for that lost time from Wednesday through Friday at training camp, where he'll be one of just three rookie receivers in attendance alongside Phillip Brooks and Jaaron Hayek.

Even though Worthy didn't get a whole lot of action during Phase III of the offseason program, the rookie has already made an impression on several of his defensive teammates, including veteran LB Nick Bolton .

"I wish we would have had the chance to get Xavier Worthy on the practice field during OTAs," Bolton recently told The Draft Network's Justin Melo . "He was battling some things. I actually had a chance to watch the footage of him on our iPads from rookie minicamp. It’s obvious that he can fly. I know Patrick Mahomes is going to get him the football in stride because he’s so dangerous with the football."

We'll soon get a chance to see that speed in action during this headstart at training camp, where he'll have a chance to catch up on some of what he missed out on during OTAs and mandatory minicamp.

Related: 7 Chiefs players who need to put together strong performances during training camp