Xavier Worthy Steps Up for Chiefs as Seahawks Loom

Xavier Worthy is finally playing like the guy Chiefs fans were promised, and the timing could not be better with Kansas City heading to Seattle on Sunday night. With Travis Kelce hurt early and the top receivers out, Worthy posted a game-high seven catches for 73 yards in the Week 6 win over the Chargers, as ESPN's Nate Taylor reported Wednesday.

"They told me all week it's going to be for me, and I've got to step up for the receiver room," Worthy said after the game. "Guys are down, so I did my job."

Why Worthy is suddenly the No. 1 option

The Chiefs are 5-0, but the receiver room is thin. Tyquan Thornton went on injured reserve last week with a dislocated left ankle and is expected to be out until January. Rashee Rice is recovering from a strained right hamstring. Kelce sustained a right ankle injury in the first quarter Sunday. That left Patrick Mahomes leaning on Worthy from the jump: his very first pass attempt of the game went Worthy's way.

Worthy led the team with 28 routes, caught balls on crossers against both zone and man, and did not drop a thing. Per NFL Next Gen Stats, he became the Chiefs' first pass catcher this season with a catch rate over expected of plus-17.1% and a 100% catch rate on at least five targets. If you watched, you saw the diving catches. That is not the gadget-play Worthy from September.

From a rough September to October momentum

The start of this season was ugly. In the first three games, Worthy had 10 catches on 15 targets for just 63 yards, with the Chiefs trying to manufacture short throws for him and him unable to outrun or break tackles on the perimeter. There was also an opening-night miscommunication with Mahomes on a deep route that ended in an interception.

October flipped it. Against the Raiders, he beat a first-quarter blitz on a deep over route for a contested 41-yard catch. "That first deep ball, I felt like that's what unlocked it for me," Worthy said Wednesday. "I feel they trust me."

Andy Reid pushed back on the idea that Worthy is just a deep threat. "We've always looked at him like he can run shallow crosses, deep crosses," Reid said. "He's tough and he's smart, so you can move him around a lot in a lot of different spots." That matters after a 2025 season in which a right shoulder injury on opening night forced the Chiefs to adjust his routes. He finished that year with 532 receiving yards and one touchdown, after 638 yards and nine total touchdowns as a rookie.

Next up: Sunday night at Seattle

Kansas City visits the Seahawks, the defending champions at 3-3, on Sunday, Oct. 25, at 8:20 p.m. ET. Worthy is chasing the first 100-yard receiving game of his career. "Me and Pat [are] building that relationship," he said. "If I go out there and do that, everything's going to come."

Mahomes put it simply after the Chargers game: "If he keeps stacking those, it'll help out a ton, as we get Rashee back." That return is not here yet. On Wednesday's injury report, Rice (hamstring) did not practice, though Reid said he is "getting better as we go, by the day," and Kelce (ankle) was limited.

Smacktok pick: lean higher on Worthy's receptions at Seattle. He led the Chiefs in routes and catches last week, Thornton is out until January, Rice did not practice Wednesday, and Kelce was limited with his ankle, so the targets have to go somewhere.