Xavier Worthy and Patrick Mahomes show chemistry, Worthy's OROY odds on move
Xavier Worthy, the speedy wide receiver out of Texas, was selected by the Kansas City Chiefs in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft.
Prior to the draft, Worthy was +3500 to win the NFL's Rookie of the Year award. Right after getting drafted by the Chiefs, he immediately moved to +1600.
Since then, Worthy's odds have moved just a tad, and he now sits at +2000, tied for the sixth-lowest odds to win OROY.
At DraftKings Sportsbook, he also has the fifth-lowest odds to lead all rookie wide receivers in receiving yards at +900.
Worthy is a dynamic new weapon to add to the mix of Travis Kelce and Patrick Mahomes, so it should come as no surprise that once Roger Goodell announced his future home, Worthy's odds for Offensive Rookie of the Year moved dramatically.
The pass catcher was a three-time All-Big 12 standout and impressed the football world with a record-setting performance at the NFL Scouting Combine, breaking the 40-yard dash record at 4.21.
Worthy displayed some of that speed on Monday, when Mahomes hit him deep for a 60-yard touchdown over the top of the defense.
These are the kinds of plays that have fans and bettors running to the windows (and phones) to go place their bets on Worthy.
The Chiefs are hopeful that Worthy and his speed will revitalize a passing game that struggled to create big plays for the majority of last season.
Compared to years in the past, Mahomes' deep ball numbers were way down last season. His deep ball completion percentage dropped from 40.3% in 2022 down to 27.9% in 2023. His passer rating on deep (20+ yard) passing attempts dropped from 110.1 to 32.7.
Much of that was due to the inconsistent play of the Chiefs wideouts. The Chiefs finished the 2023 season averaging 2.6 drops per game, good for the most in the NFL. However, with Worthy and Hollywood Brown coming in, that could all change.
"I think this year we're going to have a team that's built to throw the ball deep," Patrick Mahomes said on the Pat McAfee Show. "Coach [Andy] Reid's been preaching it all offseason, we're going to get back to throwing the deep ball. I have to be smart when we do that, but at the same time, I want to be that explosive offense that we've seen in the past."
Worthy should be a focal point of the Chiefs' downfield offense in 2024.
Here are some quick facts on Xavier Worthy from FOX Sports Research:
- Worthy led Texas in receptions in each of his last three years.
- Worthy and Roy Williams (2001-03) are the only Texas players since 1996 to have three consecutive seasons with 60-plus receptions, 750-plus receiving yards and five-plus receiving touchdowns.
- Worthy was one of 10 Power 5 players with 75-pluse receptions and 1,000-plus receiving yards in 2023.
- Worth was one of three FBS players to have 2,750-plus receiving yards and 25-plus receiving TDs since 2021 (Malachi Corley and Jacob Cowing).
- In Texas program history, Worthy is third all-time in receiving touchdowns (26), fourth in receiving yards (2,755) and sixth in receptions (197).
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