Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver and 2024 first-round pick Xavier Worthy endured a major sophomore slump last season. Entering 2026, Kansas City is hoping Worthy takes a third-year leap. However, one NFL analyst has raised concerns about the speedster’s overall outlook.
Concerns Mount for Xavier Worthy Ahead of 2026 NFL Season
During Ian Cummings’ breakdown of wide receivers to avoid in fantasy football drafts this season on PFN’s “The Hot List,” the analyst named Worthy as one of five pass-catchers with a concerning outlook heading into 2026.
“I do have major concerns about Xavier Worthy’s ability,” Cummings said. “And coming out of college, right, he had the 4.21 speed. He broke the 40-yard dash record, but he also was a featherweight prospect who definitely had inconsistencies dealing with physicality both at stems and at the catch point.
“I think that concern has translated to the NFL as well, where if he can get late snap separation, but that gap closes with a late throw, or maybe he’s not as clean out of his break, that’s when bigger, stronger defensive backs can outmuscle him at the catch point and disrupt his process. And he still has not proven a counteraction for that yet at the NFL level.”
“The opportunity is still going to be there for Xavier Worthy, but in my opinion, the archetypal skill set, I still have a lot of questions about the catch point ability,” Cummings added. “And I think that the deterioration that we’ve seen from a conversion standpoint is troubling to say the least. So he’s got the speed, he’s got the upside, but I need to see more.”
In his rookie season, Worthy appeared in all 17 games, hauling in 59 receptions for 638 yards and six receiving touchdowns. He also added 20 carries for 104 yards and three rushing touchdowns, establishing himself as the Chiefs’ primary gadget guy.
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Worthy’s best individual performance of the 2024 season came in the Super Bowl, in fact. Despite a 40-22 loss to the Eagles, Worthy put his best foot forward, catching all eight of his targets for 157 receiving yards and two touchdowns. He also posted a game-high 85.3 Impact Score among WRs, according to PFN’s WR Impact Metric.
Heading into 2025, many expected Worthy to break out for the Chiefs and become their go-to option, especially with Rashee Rice suspended for the first six games of the season and Travis Kelce entering his age-35 season. However, Worthy suffered a dislocated right shoulder and torn labrum in Week 1 against the Chargers, ultimately derailing his sophomore campaign.
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Worthy still managed to suit up for 14 regular-season games, but the shoulder injury, combined with offensive line struggles and Patrick Mahomes’s inconsistency, kept him from ever finding his stride. Worthy finished the season with 42 catches for 532 receiving yards and just one touchdown.
The Chiefs’ front office didn’t make any drastic changes to their wide receiver room this offseason, though fifth-round rookie Cyrus Allen has been turning heads throughout the summer.
Worthy will likely be slotted into a very similar role to the one he had last year, and time will tell if he can take that next step with the Chiefs.
