Kansas City’s receiving corps faces uncertainty heading into a Christmas Day showdown with division rival Denver. Xavier Worthy enters Week 17 as the Chiefs’ top wide receiver with Rashee Rice still in the concussion protocol. Should fantasy football managers trust Worthy in championship week lineups?
Xavier Worthy’s Fantasy Outlook
Worthy served as the clear WR1 last week with Rashee Rice sidelined by his concussion. His 84% snap share represented the opportunity fantasy managers had been waiting for all season. The results, however, proved underwhelming yet again. Worthy managed just three targets, converting two catches for 41 yards.
Through 16 weeks of the season, Worthy has posted just one game exceeding 11.4 fantasy points. The lack of consistent production stems from an offense that refuses to prioritize getting him the ball. Worthy has accumulated only 10 total targets over his last three games.
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The volume simply does not exist for fantasy relevance. Kansas City shows no deliberate intent to feature Worthy in the passing attack despite his explosive athleticism. His route-running remains a work in progress, limiting his ability to create consistent separation against NFL cornerbacks. The Chiefs offense operates without urgency, methodically moving through progressions that rarely reach Worthy as a primary option.
The situation deteriorated further with Gardner Minshew suffering a season-ending tibial plateau fracture in Week 16. Chris Oladokun will make his first NFL start on Thursday after completing 11 of 16 passes for 111 yards in relief duty against Tennessee. The third-string quarterback offers no fantasy upside to anyone in Kansas City’s passing game.
Should You Start Worthy This Week?
Denver presents a challenging defensive matchup for opposing wide receivers. The Broncos allow the 11th-fewest schedule-adjusted fantasy points per game to the position. Their secondary has performed well throughout the season, limiting explosive plays and forcing quarterbacks into conservative decision-making.
The matchup quality, however, proves irrelevant for Worthy and all Chiefs offensive players. Kansas City simply does not care anymore. The franchise sits eliminated from playoff contention for the first time since 2014 after Patrick Mahomes suffered season-ending ACL and LCL tears in Week 15. The Chiefs have lost their identity as an offensive powerhouse, reduced to playing out a lost season without their franchise quarterback.
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The game environment projects as historically unfavorable for Kansas City. Denver opened as 12.5-point favorites with the total sitting at just 36.5 points. The Broncos are fighting for the AFC’s top seed while the Chiefs trudge through the final two weeks with nothing to play for beyond pride. Kansas City managed just nine points against Tennessee’s defense last week, accumulating a meager 133 yards of total offense.
Oladokun’s inexperience makes an already dire situation completely untenable for fantasy purposes. He will face one of the league’s top defenses in his first career start on a short week without Rice, who is very clearly not playing again this season. The Chiefs offense probably will not even score a touchdown this week.
Worthy belongs nowhere near fantasy lineups regardless of roster construction or league depth. No Chiefs offensive player deserves consideration in what projects as a complete blowout. Fantasy managers navigating championship week should avoid all Kansas City options entirely, as the team goes through the motions of a meaningless Christmas Day contest.
