If you look back at the historical data, there are very few players that were the same size as new Kansas City Chiefs receiver Xavier Worthy who had long, successful careers in the NFL.
But if you ask Worthy, he believes he has what it takes to be an outlier.
“I weighed in at 169 [pounds],” Worthy said during his press conference at rookie minicamp on May 4. “I don’t think I took big hits, I delivered them. I feel like it’s not going to be a problem. I feel like just understanding your strengths and your weaknesses, I feel like that’s the big thing in the league. Don’t, obviously, don’t try to go hit a 250-pound linebacker. Just understanding your strengths, like I said. D-Jack (DeSean Jackson) came into the league at 169 and understood his strengths, so just using your strengths to your strength.”
DeSean Jackson Had a Successful NFL Career, But Injuries Were Still an Issue
Jackson, a former draft pick of Chiefs head coach Andy Reid when he was with the Philadelphia Eagles, played in the NFL for 15 seasons and accumulated 641 receptions, 11,263 receiving yards, and 58 receiving touchdowns, according to Pro Football Reference.
Jackson is one of the most recent examples of a receiver who weighed sub-180 pounds and was durable enough to have an extensive NFL career. But even Jackson, who last played for the Baltimore Ravens in 2022 at age 36, played in all 16 regular season games just twice in his career. So, despite playing 10-plus years in the NFL, durability was still a problem for Jackson.
Worthy has a tough task ahead of him if he wants to disprove the narrative that undersized pass catchers can’t have extensive NFL careers. But he has made one thing clear up until this point: He’s up for the challenge.
Xavier Worthy: I’m More Than Just a Z Receiver
When asked during his presser whether he’s strictly a Z receiver or capable of playing other receiver roles, Worthy reminded everyone of what he was tasked with and succeeded at during his time at Texas.
“To answer that, I really feel like I can’t just answer [it] like just a true Z receiver,” Worthy explained. “I feel like I played every position at Texas — I really played mostly X at Texas. Just being able to have that versatility and play everything, I feel like it just doesn’t limit me to any position.”
During his final season at Texas, Worthy recorded 75 receptions, 1,014 yards, and 5 touchdowns, according to Sports Reference.
Worthy broke the NFL Scouting Combine record for the 40-yard dash by running it in 4.21 seconds in February. Though he has elite speed, Worthy, unlike many of the previously undersized receivers that have come into the NFL, is a strong route runner and has a track record of succeeding at all three levels of the field. That will be taken advantage of by Kansas City’s coaching staff by moving Worthy around the formation to exploit certain matchups.
Worthy joins a receiver room in Kansas City that consists of Marquise “Hollywood” Brown, Rashee Rice, Kadarius Toney, Skyy Moore, Justin Watson, Montrell Washington, Cornell Powell, Justyn Ross, Shi Smith, Anthony Miller, and Jacob Copeland.
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