Kansas City Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes is clearly the biggest superstar in the NFL — and already being mentioned as the potential greatest QB of all time with three Super Bowl rings in his young career — so it’s a big deal when he makes the effort to send a text to a potential prospect after an overly impressive performance at the NFL Combine.
No player boosted their draft status more at the 2024 NFL scouting combine than Texas wide receiver Xavier Worthy. Worthy broke John Ross’ NFL scouting combine 40-yard dash record by running a 4.21 on his second attempt. It’s a record he knew he had a shot at breaking.
“I definitely knew I had a chance. I didn’t know it was gonna happen in reality. I came in knowing I was gonna run nothing slower than 4.25,” Worthy told USA TODAY Sports. “When I ran a 4.25 on my first one, I knew I was gonna break it. Because when I was training, I always ran faster on my second 40. So, I knew I was gonna run faster on that second 40.”
Xavier Worthy said his phone has been “buzzing” since he broke the combine 40 record. Hall of Fame linebacker Ray Lewis, DeSean Jackson and three-time Super Bowl champion Patrick Mahomes were among the notable congratulatory texts he received.
The Mahomes text is interesting for a few reasons. First and foremost, it’s no secret the Kansas City Chiefs need to add weapons at receiver if they want to truly contend for a third-straight Super Bowl and keep the dynasty rolling.
They recently released WR Marquez-Valdez Scantling who was fourth on the team in receiving at the end of the season. Behind Travis Kelce — who showed his age at times during the regular season — but still led the team in receiving with 93 receptions for 984 yards and five touchdowns — rookie wideout WR Rashee Rice was the only true wideout to contribute in a significant way.
Rice finished the season with 79 catches for 938 yards and 7 touchdowns. The next closest wide receiver was Justin Watson who closed out the year with just 27 catches for 460 yards and three touchdowns.
The emergence of Rice was a breath of fresh air and Mahomes helped make him better as he does for any offensive player on that roster, but Kansas City is in desperate need of another elite-level playmaker who can make defenses account for more than just Kelce and Rice in 2024.
Xavier Worthy Wants To Play With Patrick Mahomes And The Kansas City Chiefs, Believes He Could Fill Void Left By Tyreek Hill
Although the Chiefs have won two-consecutive Super Bowls since letting superstar wide receiver Tyreek Hill depart for the Miami Dolphins, it’s been an obvious adjustment for Andy Reid and Mahomes.
They had become accustomed to a high-flying brand of football as Hill would use his elite speed to get behind defenders and Mahomes would connect with him in stride with beautiful deep balls time and time again. Defenses would have to account for Kelce over the middle, the dual-threat ability of Mahomes and ability to make off-schedule plays, while still stopping the run and attempting to adjust to Andy Reid’s creative play calling.
So many believe Patrick Mahomes’ text was noteworthy for Xavier Worthy because the speedster identified the Kansas City Chiefs as an ideal landing spot for him.
“In a perfect world, I definitely would want to go to the Chiefs,” Worthy said. “Just the way Mahomes and the Chiefs improvise and use you. They had Tyreek Hill. The way they used him, I feel like that would be a perfect fit for me.”
Hill compiled 479 catches, 6,630 receiving yards and 56 touchdowns in six seasons with the Chiefs and helped the Kansas City Chiefs win Super Bowl 54. Hill is regarded as one of, if not, the fastest player in the NFL.
Worthy believes he’s faster than Hill.
And Worthy has always been fast.
The speedy wide receiver started 39 games in three years at Texas. He produced 26 career touchdown receptions, third all-time in Texas history. His 2,755 receiving yards ranks fourth all-time in school history.
In addition to football, Worthy was a track and field athlete at Central East High School in Fresno, California. As a sophomore in high school, Worthy ran wind-legal personal-best time of 10.65 in the 100-meters.
The Texas product is confident in his speed but he’s also realistic. He laughed at people comparing his 40-yard dash run to that of Usain Bolt when the former Jamaican track and field superstar effortlessly ran a 4.22 in the 40 in sweats and sneakers at the NFL Experience in 2019.
“No,” Worthy said when asked if he could beat a now 37-year-old Bolt in the 40. “His 40 was in shoes and sweats. There’s no comparison. I’m not even gonna disrespect him.”
When it comes to NFL players, though, Worthy is confident he’ll be the fastest in the league on the first day of his NFL career.
Right now, the Kansas City Chiefs hold the No. 32 pick in April’s NFL Draft and Xavier Worthy is projected to get selected in the middle of the first round, but Patrick Mahomes has a ton of influence in that building. Could he convince GM Brett Veach to trade up for the immediate vertical threat? It’s certainly possible.