Borgonzi: Chiefs Tried to Trade Higher Than 28th for Xavier Worthy

On Friday night, KC's assistant GM spoke about the Worthy selection and revealed that the team discussed making the move sooner.

Nov 24, 2023; Austin, Texas, USA; Texas Longhorns wide receiver Xavier Worthy (1) reacts after scoring a touchdown during the second half against the Texas Tech Red Raiders at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Scott Wachter-USA TODAY Sports / Scott Wachter-USA TODAY Sports

The Kansas City Chiefs' first two days of the 2024 NFL Draft have both featured trades up the board. Day One saw the reigning champs move up a handful of spots for receiver Xavier Worthy, and Day Two resulted in a one-spot jump for offensive tackle Kingsley Suamataia.

As it turns out, Kansas City attempted to get both players sooner than where they actually secured them.

Speaking to the media on Friday night, assistant general manager Mike Borgonzi addressed the Suamataia pick and said calls for a trade-up scenario began around pick no. 52. When asked about Worthy, he said first-round calls stemmed from them wanting to get the speedy wideout earlier in the 20s.

Having a good read on how the opening round would fall is what helped the Chiefs land their man.

"Having six quarterbacks go within the top 12 picks... 1984 would've been the last time?" Borgonzi began. "We knew it was quarterbacks, it was receivers, it was tackles and there was going to be a run on these guys. Tackles went off the board probably at 20 [or] 21 that we were kind of focused in on. With Worthy, we were just waiting for him. We tried to trade up earlier for him in the 20s and ended up getting him a little bit later."

Both sides are certainly glad the pick happened. Worthy may even be more pumped than the team itself, especially considering he reached out to the Chiefs' team account on Instagram on draft week with "2 more days" as his message. In Worthy, Kansas City is getting the fastest player in the 2024 class and someone who broke the all-time record for fastest 40-yard dash.

It isn't just Worthy's speed that stands out, though. The former Longhorn is an excellent ball-tracker and maintains his speed throughout the rep. Additionally, he can run a more diverse route tree than some of the other speed specialists to come through Kansas City. His blend of quickness, length and football smarts should translate and help the Chiefs' offense bounce back in 2024.

Borgonzi agrees with that assessment, citing Worthy as much more than just a fast runner.

"Well obviously, like you said, the speed, 4.21," Borgonzi said. "He's not the biggest guy, but he's tough. He's not just a vertical guy. He can run the route tree. The intermediate routes, he can get in and out of his breaks. He's not a one-trick pony deep threat. We feel like he can line up in a lot of different positions for us. He's a smart kid, and then he has return value, punt return value, which is going to be big for us."

With the pick in the books and Day Three of the draft on deck, Kansas City has landed two big fish in terms of prospects. Whatever Borgonzi, general manager Brett Veach and company do from here on out is icing on the cake. But with depth waiting to be added at positions like cornerback, tight end, guard, center, running back and more, there's still work to do.

Bringing in Worthy (and Suamataia) is one heck of a start. Borgonzi speaking about the gravity of its trade talks is a testament to how much the Chiefs wanted to improve with the right pieces.

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