Rookie Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Xavier Worthy divided opinion throughout the offseason, with many tabbing the youngster as a 'speed merchant' while others praised his overall game.
Worthy answered a lot of questions about how much of an impact he'll have on the Kansas City offense with his first touch of the game against the Baltimore Ravens . He took an end-around 21 yards and into the endzone for the Chiefs' first touchdown of the season.
Quarterback Patrick Mahome s faked the handoff left to Isiah Pacheco before flipping the ball to Worthy, who flashed his 4.21 40-yard dash speed behind a lead block from TE Noah Gray to waltz into the endzone.
“His first touch, a Kansas City touchdown," NBC broadcaster Mike Tirico called . "Choo choo," said co-commentator Cris Collinsworth.
The Chiefs selected Worthy with the 28th pick in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft after moving up four spots in a trade with the Buffalo Bills .
The speedster impressed throughout Kansas City training camp, catching the eye of veteran Travis Kelce. The tight end had nothing but praise for the young wide receiver.
"Some guys have the speed and some guys are just football players," Kelce said . "[Worthy is] intelligent, he's picking up on the offense very smooth, he can see things and react to things and then on top of that he has absolute speed that is just on a whole other stratosphere."
"He's a fluid runner," the tight end continued. "He's very smooth and he's understanding when Pat [Mahomes] is going to come to him on the route."
Worthy's touchdown earned him some plaudits from a handful of ex-NFL players. “Xavier Worthy fast as ----. Good lord," tweeted JJ Watt. “Blink and you will miss this Xavier Worthy TD. He was movinggggg," former quarterback Robert Griffin III added.
This is by no means Worthy's first time in the spotlight. He was a star at the University of Texas, catching 75 passes for 1,014 yards and five touchdowns for the Longhorns in 2023.
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"That's the biggest thing in this offense and the biggest thing getting used to as a rookie being able to trust what you're seeing so that you're on the same page as your quarterback," Kelce continued.
"He's doing a great job so far and I'm excited for him, man. He seems to be one of those guys who rises up to the occasion and I'm pumped for him.'"
Worthy was not the team's primary option in the passing game throughout the first half, garnering just two targets in the first 30 minutes. Kansas City receiver Rashee Rice led the way with five targets, hauling in four of them for 47 yards
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