Dynasty Rookie Draft Advice: Xavier Worthy (2024 Fantasy Football)

This is what we’ve been waiting for, fantasy football enthusiasts. The NFL Draft is under way, and we finally get to see where the rookie prospects are going to launch their professional careers. And NFL Draft landing spots allow us to start to zero in on fantasy football and dynasty rookie draft pick values. Here, we break down Xavier Worthy’s fit with the Kansas City Chiefs after they traded up to draft him.

Throughout the draft, we’ll take a closer look at fantasy-relevant prospects, giving you an overview of their strengths and weaknesses, and assessing their fantasy value in both redraft and dynasty formats.

Let’s dig in.

Fantasy Football Rookie Draft Outlook

Fitz’s Fantasy Football Outlook

The Kansas City Chiefs have injected a shot of adrenaline into their WR room, selecting Xavier Worthy of Texas with the 28th pick of the first round after making a trade with Buffalo to move up four spots.

Kansas City is a dream landing spot for a wide receiver, and Worthy seems like an especially good fit for Chiefs head coach Andy Reid’s system.

Speed is Worthy’s calling card. He broke the record for the fastest 40-yard dash at the NFL Scouting combine with a 4.21. Worthy combines that explosive speed with high-quality route-running. He’s no mere deep threat; the Longhorns endeavored to get the ball into Worthy’s hands on shorter routes, too, positioning him to do damage after the catch. Worthy played both outside and in the slot at Texas, and that versatility should help with his transition to the NFL.

Worthy was productive from the get-go at Texas, catching 62 passes for 981 yards and 12 touchdowns as an 18-year-old freshman. He finished his three-year run in Austin with 75 catches for 1,014 yards and five touchdowns last season while sharing targets with WR Adonai Mitchell ad TE Ja’Tavion Sanders.

"Buffalo, what are we doing?"@AndrewErickson_ on Xavier Worthy to the Chiefs pic.twitter.com/n3flrsfyhP

— FantasyPros (@FantasyPros) April 26, 2024

Xavier Worthy is 5-11, 165 pounds, so he’s not going to win many tests of strength against NFL defensive backs. His lack of physicality shows up in contested-catch situations. He also has questionable ball skills, with 12 drops over the last two years.

The good news is that Reid is going to find all sorts of creative ways to get Worthy into open space, and QB Patrick Mahomes isn’t going to force Worthy to make a lot of contested catches. The Chiefs value speed at wide receiver, but they’ve taken some missteps in trying to add speed at the WR position, signing Marquez Valdes-Scantling, trading for Kadarius Toney, and drafting and reacquiring Mecole Hardman. Worthy is a better player than any of those three and should quickly become a valuable fantasy asset in the Kansas City offense, even though he’ll have to share targets with TE Travis Kelce and WR Rashee Rice.

In dynasty, I had Worthy ranked WR6 among rookies before the draft but have moved him up to WR4. I have him ranked WR28 overall for dynasty. He’s likely to go somewhere from 1.04 to 1.07 in 1QB dynasty rookie drafts, and in the late first round of superflex rookie drafts.

Xavier Worthy’s predraft FantasyPros Expert Consensus Ranking in half-point PPR redraft leagues was WR66. His predraft Underdog best-ball ADP was RB58. He’ll get more expensive after landing with the Chiefs. I tentatively have him ranked WR46 for redraft.

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Thor’s NFL Draft Profile & Player Comp

Xavier Worthy | Texas
5112/165 | RAS: 9.41
Comp: DeSean Jackson

Worthy was initially part of Michigan’s vaunted 2021 recruiting class that included JJ McCarthy. But after his enrollment into the university hit a snag over academics, Worthy re-opened his recruitment and signed with new Texas HC Steve Sarkisian. Sarkisian, the former Alabama OC, had pitched Worthy on becoming the DeVonta Smith of his revamped Longhorn offense.

Worthy will, of course, not be drafted as high as Smith. But after his record-setting 4.21 forty at the NFL Combine, Worthy remains in play to go in Round 1. Worthy and Smith have similar frames – Smith entered the NFL an inch taller and five pounds heavier – but differing playing styles.

Worthy is more reminiscent of DeSean Jackson, and, more recently, Hollywood Brown and Tank Dell. He is a slippery burner with natural separation skills. The athleticism and lightning-quick feet make him extremely difficult to stay within space.

Worthy showed the ability to play both inside and outside at Texas. I think he can do the same in the NFL. He’s a good route-runner – independent of the athleticism. Worthy sets up defenders to fail before the ball has been thrown, and he’s shown the ability to win at all three levels while handling heavy usage in Austin.

The Longhorns got Worthy involved in a myriad of ways, including shuttling the ball off to him behind the line of scrimmage. As Sarkisian had promised, the Texas staff wanted the ball in Worthy’s hands. Worthy had 197 catches and 26 TDs over three seasons.

I have only one real concern about Worthy, and it has nothing to do with his weight. His ball skills need real work. When the ball is in his hands, everyone in the stadium holds their breath. But getting it there isn’t always a fixed outcome, despite his prowess at separating. On tape, Worthy’s drops fell into two buckets: 1) Bad technique and 2) Poor concentration. The fact the issue couldn’t be isolated to one fixable thing bears mentioning.

The technique aspect has to do with a bad habit of excessive body-catching – letting balls get into his frame and trapping them against his torso. This also has the effect of slowing his process into becoming a runner, adding transition time. This doesn’t occur every catch – I saw impressive instances of extension for bucket throws, for instance – but his odds of securing the ball plummet in instances it crops up. Beyond that, Worthy has a smaller catch radius and isn’t reliable on stuff soundly outside his frame – even balls that were supposed to be thrown that way.

For example, in the huge showdown against Alabama in Week 2, Worthy broke the ankles of his man on a whip route at the goal line. He basically had one-half of the end zone to himself as he sprinted toward the pylon. QB Quinn Ewers led him that way – correctly – to keep the ball far safely away from a trailing backside defender. This forced Worthy to reach out for what should have been a touchdown. But the ball clanked off Worthy’s hands to the turf. Hand up – I’m a huge Xavier Worthy fan. But it was this sort of thing that forced me to temper my final ranking of him.

Xavier Worthy had 12 charted drops in the last two years, but even that number seems generous – I sure feel like I saw more. Worthy has lightning-in-a-bottle athleticism, but the lack of money-in-the-bank reliability is what ultimately cost him a Round 1 grade in a split decision on my board. If he can button that part of his game up, we’re in store for another decade of DeSean Jackson-like highlights.

Check out more NFL Draft profiles and player comps from Thor in our 2024 NFL Draft Guide