Andy Reid, Patrick Mahomes React to Xavier Worthy's Big Day vs. Lions

Worthy gave KC a reminder of why he got drafted in the first round, and both Reid and Mahomes are happy with his by-design progress.

Jul 26, 2024; Kansas City, MO, USA; Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Xavier Worthy (1) walks down the hill from the locker room to the fields prior to training camp at Missouri Western State University. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports / Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports

After quite an abbreviated look against the Jacksonville Jaguars a week ago, the Kansas City Chiefs showed off their first-team offense for a bit longer on Saturday with the Detroit Lions in town. Patrick Mahomes and Co. helped steal the show with a behind-the-back pass completion, but rookie wide receiver Xavier Worthy saw his star shine as well.

With Marquise "Hollywood" Brown out with a sternoclavicular injury, one less speed threat was on the field for the reigning Super Bowl champs. That placed more pressure on Worthy to perform, and the No. 28 overall NFL Draft pick did just that. In his second preseason game, he had 73 all-purpose yards and a touchdown.

Worthy's patented speed, which set an NFL Scouting Combine record earlier this year, was on full display. After the game, head coach Andy Reid explained how critical that element is.

"That's an important part of it," Reid said. "When Hollywood gets back in there, that'll be another addition to it. Mecole (Hardman) is doing some good things there, too. Having that helps but Xavier's speed to be able to get through and make people honor him – sometimes two people honor him – that's a big thing."

Mahomes goes DEEP to Xavier Worthy 🤩

(via @NFL)

pic.twitter.com/rpL1J4BgMI

— KC Sports Network (@KCSportsNetwork) August 17, 2024

Playing premium snaps in the first half, Worthy's final stat line for the game ended up being three receptions for 62 yards and the aforementioned score. The rookie had a team-high six targets, which finished top-three among all pass catchers in Saturday's game.

Reid admitted that after a somewhat quiet preseason debut, the Chiefs wanted to get Worthy involved early and often this time around. Mahomes echoed that sentiment, adding that Rashee Rice's usage was intentional as well.

"It was super important," Mahomes said. "Obviously, you saw that we were kind of majoring in that early, trying to get him some routes where he can go out there and win. And then getting Rashee involved a little bit, it's finding that right balance because you want to not put them in harm's way too much but you want them to go out there and get some confidence going. I was glad to get both of those guys going early."

Mahomes adds that even when Worthy was injured during the offseason program, he was "absorbing" every bit of knowledge possible. Citing him as someone who doesn't make the same mistake twice, the way Mahomes speaks of Worthy is somewhat similar to how he referenced Rice a year ago. Rice, of course, went on to haul in 79 passes for over 900 yards and seven touchdowns in his first regular season.

Given the plethora of options at the Chiefs' disposal, it'd be very difficult for Worthy to match that production in year one. With that said, he doesn't have to. If he leverages his speed and route-running abilities, the rest will take care of itself. That's exactly what happened on his touchdown grab from backup quarterback Carson Wentz.

Xavier Worthy's just too fast 🔥

📺: #DETvsKC on @NFLNetwork
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— NFL (@NFL) August 17, 2024

Sure, every cliche for August football (preseason not being real games, sample size variance, starters versus backups) can be used to extinguish what Worthy did on Saturday. But on a team that witnessed its 2023 first-round pick fail to make much of an impact as a rookie at all, seeing this from Worthy here is a massive plus. The fact that what he displayed seems translatable to regular-season football is icing on the cake.

With the opener against the Baltimore Ravens less than three weeks away, it's time for the first-team offense – Worthy included – to keep improving.

"There's high expectations on him," Mahomes said. "I think he's doing a great job in the process of building and building. I think he's going to make a lot of big impact plays for us but we have other guys, too, that are going to help him so there's not too much pressure on him to make plays every single game."

Read More: Preseason Takeaways – Worthy Shines, Mahomes Goes Behind the Back vs. Lions