Xavier Worthy has 1,170 receiving yards and 7 touchdowns on his NFL resume, production that the fantasy football community thought would more align with where he stood after one season, not two, but here we are.
The speed has yet to be truly unlocked (12.7 yards per catch with zero career catches of 55+ yards), but the offense remains intact, and his role isn’t going anywhere. Is now the time to pounce on his ADP resting outside of the top 100 players?
Should You Draft Xavier Worthy in Fantasy Football?
The industry got ahead of itself, projecting that Worthy’s combine speed would automatically translate into fantasy production, and two years into his career, the gap between his ceiling and his actual output remains wide. Defenses have spent years scheming to take the deep ball away from Patrick Mahomes, and that’s forced Worthy to operate away from the one trait that made him a first-round pick.
That could be a lose-the-battle, win-the-war situation if it eventually pushes him to round out his route tree, but the results to date are rough to date.
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In full PPR scoring, Worthy has just three 20-point games to his name, and he has twice as many outings under five points. Earning targets in bulk has been the bigger issue, with eight or more targets in only 25.8% of his career games, and that volume problem caps his weekly appeal even with a Hall of Fame quarterback throwing to him.
None of that means the profile is finished. Worthy was clearly schemed to be a featured piece of Kansas City’s passing game in last season’s opener before a shoulder injury on the third snap knocked him out and cost him the next two games.
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When he returned, the belief in the role didn’t disappear even if the numbers stayed uneven. Reporting this spring indicated that the coaching staff intentionally limited his workload for the rest of the season to protect his shoulder rather than write him off, which aligns with a coach who still values his tools even when the box score didn’t cooperate.
Production came and went through a bumpy second season, but the belief at the top hasn’t gone anywhere. As long as Andy Reid keeps building around this skill set, Worthy stays in the buy-low conversation instead of the cut list, especially given the recovery of his QB from the ACL tear.
Preseason Fantasy WR Rankings
- Ja’Marr Chase | CIN
- Puka Nacua | LAR
- Jaxon Smith-Njigba | SEA
- Amon-Ra St. Brown | DET
- Drake London | ATL
- Justin Jefferson | MIN
- CeeDee Lamb | DAL
- Nico Collins | HOU
- A.J. Brown | NE
- Malik Nabers | NYG
- George Pickens | DAL
- Chris Olave | NO
- Rashee Rice | KC
- Zay Flowers | BAL
- Jaylen Waddle | DEN
- Tee Higgins | CIN
- DeVonta Smith | PHI
- Ladd McConkey | LAC
- Terry McLaurin | WAS
- Emeka Egbuka | TB
- Tetairoa McMillan | CAR
- Garrett Wilson | NYJ
- Jameson Williams | DET
- Christian Watson | GB
- Luther Burden III | CHI
- Rome Odunze | CHI
- Parker Washington | JAX
- Carnell Tate | TEN
- DJ Moore | BUF
- Marvin Harrison Jr. | ARI
- Davante Adams | LAR
- Brian Thomas Jr. | JAX
- Quentin Johnston | LAC
- Mike Evans | SF
- Stefon Diggs | WAS
- Michael Wilson | ARI
- DK Metcalf | PIT
- Jakobi Meyers | JAX
- Josh Downs | IND
- Michael Pittman Jr. | PIT
- Jayden Reed | GB
- Courtland Sutton | DEN
- Wan’Dale Robinson | TEN
- Chris Godwin Jr. | TB
- Alec Pierce | IND
- Makai Lemon | PHI
- Jordan Addison | MIN
- De’Zhaun Stribling | SF
- Khalil Shakir | BUF
- Romeo Doubs | NE
