The Kansas City Chiefs are hoping to be the first team in NFL history to three-peat, but their already shaky wide receiver room took a big hit when Marquise “Hollywood” Brown went down with a shoulder injury. Brown will likely face an extended absence, and his availability for Week One is in question.
The team will need somebody else to step up in the wake of Brown’s injury, but they’ve had trouble finding a no. 1 wide receiver since Tyreek Hill left town. Luckily, the Chiefs have a young and talented insurance policy in Xavier Worthy, the team's first-round selection in the 2024 NFL Draft.
Xavier Worthy is one of the fastest players in the league
Worthy posted the fastest 40-yard dash time in NFL history at the 2024 NFL Combine and his speed shows up on tape too. He’s not one of those players who is only able to run fast in shorts and a T-shirt, but he can demonstrate his speed on game film. His college highlight reel is full of plays where he simply blew past his defender and ran wide-open down the field for an easy touchdown. It’s not just the highlights with Worthy, though. His speed was a noticeable factor that clearly impacted how defenders schemed against the Texas Longhorns’ offense.
Even on running plays, the defense was often so preoccupied with Worthy that his primary defender wouldn't even be involved in stopping the run at all because he would react to Worthy’s decoy right off the line of scrimmage.
When a player has the speed that Worthy does, all the traditional rules fly out the window. His primary defender is no longer looking at the offensive line to determine whether the play is a run or a pass. That defender is solely focused on one task and one task only: not getting burned for a touchdown.
Worthy often doesn’t even need to block, as his speed makes him more valuable as a decoy running a fake deep route down the field.
Rashee Rice may be facing a suspension
Wide receiver Rashee Rice broke out in a big way last season, giving Mahomes his first bona fide top receiver since Hill left town to join Tua Tagovailoa in South Beach.
There's little doubt that Rice’s emergence coincided with the Chiefs offense looking to be in their best form since Hill left, and the team won a Super Bowl as a result. Rice would be the obvious candidate to step up in Brown's absence, and in terms of talent alone, an argument could even be made that he is already the team's No. 1 receiver.
However, Rice has had a turbulent offseason. The young receiver was arrested and charged with eight felonies in relation to a multi-car crash on a busy Dallas highway. Rice was also a suspect in an assault at a Dallas nightclub, although the alleged victim declined to press charges.
The NFL can still punish Rice, though, and he'll almost certainly face league discipline for his role in the crash. To make matters even worse for the team, Rice's suspension could coincide with the postseason. This means the Chiefs will need a backup plan.
The Chiefs need to take pressure off Travis Kelce
Travis Kelce is a superstar tight end who is one of the three best players in the position. Yet, the Chiefs should do everything in their power to prevent a situation where they find themselves relying primarily on Kelce.
First, as dynamic as Kelce is, it’s difficult for a tight end to make a consistent and meaningful impact on the game. It’s also easier to double-team a tight end from the snap because of the way they line up on the field.
A defense faces immense stress lining up two players over an outside receiver on the boundary, and most double teams on outside receivers come from a cornerback with safety help over the top. However, it’s much easier to line up two defenders over a tight end when they are in the slot or next to the offensive tackle.
Most routes that tight ends run don't have as much potential to take the top off the defense, which somewhat limits their ability to create explosive plays and score from 30 or more yards out.
Patrick Mahomes works best with a deep threat
Mahomes is one of the best quarterbacks of his generation, and he’s able to excel with any group of pass-catchers around him. However, there’s one type of player that he works best with. When Mahomes has a speedy deep threat who can take the top off of a defense with ease, that’s when he is at his best. Mahomes is a quarterback who thrives using his improvisation skills, arm strength, and ability to throw from a variety of unorthodox arm slots. This allows him to create and convert opportunities that other quarterbacks might not even see or consider.
Having a receiver who can get behind the defense on any play, opens up more space on the field for Mahomes to work with, and puts more stress on the defense. When the defense is stressed, they are more likely to have a breakdown in coverage that gives Mahomes an opportunity he can exploit.
The most obvious example of Mahomes’ success with this receiver archetype is Tyreek Hill. Although the Chiefs have enjoyed sustained success with several iterations of their past catching core, there’s little doubt that Mahomes thrived while throwing passes to Hill.
With Brown out due to injury, Worthy has a chance to step up
The Chiefs are going to need another player to step up in Brown's absence. Worthy is a talented young player who fits exactly what Mahomes likes to do offensively. A speedy deep threat out wide is one of the few player archetypes that can elevate Mahomes' game.
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