The Kansas City Chiefs were something of a wild card heading into the 2023 season. Sure, they were just coming off a Super Bowl victory, but they had several unknowns in their receiver room.
Thankfully for Chiefs fans and fantasy managers everywhere, Patrick Mahomes tends to make the people around him better. Even though on paper the Chiefs didn’t have an A+ receiver room, they found a way to push through their inadequacies at the position and propel themselves to their second-straight Super Bowl victory.
While they made it work last year, the Chiefs made it clear that they didn’t want to enter the 2024 campaign with the same problems. They signed Hollywood Brown early in the offseason, adding an established veteran into the fold. They also picked up Xavier Worthy in the draft, who will be our main focus in today’s article.
Xavier Worthy 2024 Fantasy Football Outlook
Does Speed Kill?
If you were paying attention during the NFL Combine this year, you’d know that Worthy broke the Combine’s record with his blazing 40-yard dash time. With an impressive 4.21-second run, Worthy not only made headlines but caught the eye of the Chiefs, who selected him in the first round of the draft.
The Chiefs are no stranger to having a speedster on their roster, as Tyreek Hill played that role for many years. However, speed alone isn’t a metric for long-term success in the NFL. (John Ross truthers, where you at?)
Some people viewed Worthy as a pure speed threat coming out of the Combine, but the Chiefs viewed him differently. With a core pass-catching group of Worthy, Brown, and Travis Kelce, Mahomes might finally have an elite group that could propel him to the next level. Not that he needs it, but it can’t hurt.
What This Means For His Fantasy Value
So we’ve touched on Worthy’s speed, and how much value that could provide to this offense. But, how does this pertain to his fantasy value, specifically? He might help the Chiefs win games, but can he be a meaningful member of your fantasy team?
In short, we believe that the answer is a resounding yes. Just take a quick look at a few videos of what he’s accomplished in camp thus far.
Andy Reid on Xavier Worthy during todays presser:
“He’a on track to be the best receiver in his class. I think a lot of people are going to realize that within the first few weeks.”
“His game shows no flaws this pre season, Corners struggled vs him”
pic.twitter.com/78QDDFCZyT— • (@WokeeJa) July 21, 2024
Notice how more than half of these are Xavier Worthy
He’s going to be a massive part of this offense for the future https://t.co/TkJqR6SsgH
— Snoog’s Dynasty Society (@FFSnoog) July 30, 2024
Mahomes to Xavier Worthy 🔥pic.twitter.com/mPDe32rZep
— Brad Henson Productions (@BradHensonPro) July 28, 2024
As you can see in the clips above, Worthy does a nice job separating from defenders in camp. Sure, it’s just training camp, but he does demonstrate an ability to catch the ball with his hands, not his body. Worthy also has won several 50/50 balls to this point, which could lead to a lot of success down the road for your fantasy team.
His current ADP at Underdog is 64.0, which puts him as the 38th wide receiver taken off the board. This ADP tells me a few things. No. 1, you can get a solid receiver deep in drafts this year, and No. 2, Worthy is being severely under-drafted. Sure, he might be the third option in this offense, but if he has a great rapport with Mahomes already, being the third target in this offense could still yield him a 1,000+-yard, 6+ touchdown season.
Worthy is being taken well behind Tee Higgins, Christian Kirk, and Terry McLaurin. What do all three of those players have in common? They don’t have Mahomes as their quarterback. If Worthy is available in that spot, we’ll take it all day long.
See where Xavier Worthy ranks in our 2024 Fantasy Football Rankings!
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A Look Inside the Kansas City Chiefs
Editor’s Note: While Andrew focused on Xavier Worthy in fantasy football, we don’t want to leave you hanging on the rest of the team. Here is a quick look at the other fantasy-relevant Chiefs from Josh Hudson.
Patrick Mahomes
It’s Patrick Mahomes. He’s the best quarterback in the NFL. He’s coming off a “down” season, and still finished as a QB1. With a new and improved receiving corps, there’s every reason to think that 36+ TDs and 4,600 passing yards is a plausible outcome. His QB3 ADP is perfectly fine.
Isiah Pacheco
Mocking his running style aside, there is positively nothing sexy about drafting Isiah Pacheco as the RB10. He’s in a good offense, and that has value. But they throw WAY more than they run the ball. MAYBE he takes some of the vacated targets from last year’s 3rd down back, Jerick McKinnon. But are you telling me you’d rather have Pacheco over Travis Etienne, Derrick Henry, Joe Mixon, or Alvin Kamara? Couldn’t be me.
Marquise Brown
He’s played the role of a WR1 in the past, even if he wasn’t an overly productive one. What he brings to this offense is speed, and he’s being drafted over the team’s ACTUAL WR1. Unless he slips a few rounds, Hollywood won’t be on any of my fantasy rosters this season.
Rashee Rice
Here we go. The REAL Chiefs WR1. He had over 100 targets last year with a 77.5% catch rate. So why is he going off the board one pick before Worthy? A (potential) looming suspension for some off field issues in the spring. We played this song-and-dance with Alvin Kamara last season. Bank on talent and the guy that Mahomes already has a rapport with, and that’s Rice.
Travis Kelce
It’s Travis Kelce. He’s the best receiving TE in the NFL. He’s coming off a “down” season and still finished as the TE2. (Well, REALLY, he was the TE1 in PPG, but I digress.) Don’t get blinded by what the Fountain of Youth has provided the league over the last couple of years. Kelce has people around him who will draw defensive attention from him. His TE2 ADP is a value. Draft away.
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