Arrowhead Pride
Buffalo traded the No. 28 NFL Draft pick to the Chiefs, who selected the Texas product.
Xavier Worthy’s professional football journey began on April 25, 2024 — Day 1 of the NFL Draft — with one of the Kansas City Chiefs’ premier rivals, the Buffalo Bills, on the clock at No. 28 overall.
Buffalo opted not to make a selection. Instead, to the surprise of many, the team traded the pick to the Chiefs so it could move up from the fourth round to the third round later in the weekend.
Kansas City general manager Brett Veach called Worthy, who was surrounded by his mother, family and close friends.
Now, nine months later — three days before the Chiefs meet the Bills at Arrowhead Stadium for the AFC Championship — Worthy recalled the circumstances that led him to Kansas City.
“I take it as a blessing,” he said on Friday at the podium. “I feel like it’s a sign that [the Bills] didn’t want me. So, at the end of the day, I’m gonna play with a chip on my shoulder. This game means a little bit more. Obviously, it’s the AFC Championship Game, but this is the team that traded their pick away to get somebody else.”
To Worthy’s point, the Bills indeed went on to take wide receiver Keon Coleman five selections later. Both rookies went on to have productive seasons, but Worthy’s availability enabled him to outgain Coleman in scrimmage yards, 742 to 565.
In Kansas City’s Divisional round game against the Houston Texans, Worthy stood out as the only wide receiver to catch a pass, finishing with five receptions for 45 yards. That speaks volumes, considering quarterback Patrick Mahomes tends to rely on the weapons he trusts the most in the playoffs.
“He’s a guy that works extremely hard [and] practices extremely hard,” said Mahomes of Worthy on Wednesday. “The more and more chances and opportunities I’ve given him, he’s kind of taken them and ran with them.”
Against the Texans, Worthy caught a 21-yard pass down the left sideline. There were two instances earlier in the season in which he was able to snag the football in tough spots but not get his feet in bounds.
But there was no problem on this play, which led to a go-ahead field goal that gave Kansas City a lead it would never relinquish.
“Just putting the ball up there – one-on-one matchup and letting him make a play,” described Mahomes. “I’m excited for how he’s progressed throughout the season, and hopefully we can progress for a few more games then – that will be a taking off point going into next year.”
The night he was drafted, a case could be made that nobody was more excited than special teams coordinator Dave Toub, who often talked about Worthy’s punt-return upside. Things dramatically shifted for the Chiefs when wide receiver Rashee Rice was lost for the season in Week 2.
That meant head coach Andy Reid would need...
