Game Tape Review: Xavier Worthy More Than Just Speed

Taylor Bell - Chiefs Studios

With the 28nd select of the 1st Round, the Kansas city Chiefs chose Texas Wide Out Xavier Worthy. Worthy drew headlines through running the quickest forty-yard dash time ever recorded at the NFL Scouting mix.

Worthy's speed is unmatched, but he has plenty of different elements to his game for you to make him an exciting prospect.

Catching the deep ball.

Tremendous speed comes with the ability to take the good off of defenses, and the Chiefs couldn't pass up an opportunity to give Patrick Mahomes a weapon downfield.

Texas goes with the deep ball, and helpful results in a one-on-one condition with the excessive defense. important blows past the security with the elite speed however nevertheless need to come up with the flow. Turning his head, he can song the ball perfectly, and he makes a sensational over-the-shoulder capture for a landing.

Outside of a number of explosive performs throughout the 2023 Playoffs, the Chiefs had, this had little to do with Mahomes and extra to do with the inability of consistency in catching the ball down the field.

Worthy may still provide the Chiefs with the spark they deserve to bring these plays lower back.

Yards after catch.

The elite speed isn't simply beneficial for the deep ball; it could possibly turn a reasonable benefit into an explosive play.

Worthy runs an unmatched out route due to the cornerback is giving him space to avoid him from going deep. The house is best for stopping the lengthy ball, however when Worthy cuts to the outside the corner turns back to stop the inside look.

Defensive help hauls in with the threat of the comeback pass, the corner whiffs, and Wirthy is off to the races. Giving Worthy too much space can cause explosive yards after catch plays.

Brief transitions.

Probably the most extraordinary part of Xavier's on field game is his capacity to create brief transitions and his means to start and stop on a dime.

On occasion, quicker players can have problem hitting their top speed and motoring down; Xavier has the agility and core power needed to stop on a dime.

During the 2023 season, he needed to use this capacity extra frequently as a result of teams gave him added space to perform deeper insurance on him. This insurance prevented deep balls, however they allowed worthwhile to flourish below the coverage.

Defensive groups altered their coverage looks to decelerate help around the line and disrupt his routes, however used his transitional pace to blow past them.

Even if groups decided to try to jam him or give him area to function, nobody had a definite answer. Because the protective returned strategies around the line of scrimmage, DB's make an attempt to clutter Worthy's route to no avail.

In one quick movement, Worthy can start, stop and blow by the DB and eventually any Safety help simply cannot contain because the Safety position is essential to slow to keep up with Xavier's speed. The capacity to track the deep ball takes over next, which was a huge profit for the Longhorns and now the Chiefs.

With so much area between him and the defender, there are numerous other ways this play can conclude. Subsequently, he stops on a dime and is delivered the ball and that is what makes him an elite 1st round talent prospect. 

Xavier's speed, starting and stopping on a dime plus his uncanny ability to get to top speed in just a few short steps modified how defenses performed against Texas, and the Chiefs hope it is going to do the identical for them.

Early usage in Kansas City

Whereas Worthy will have his options to head deep, the Chiefs will probably begin him out slowly and permit him time to thoroughly learn the offense.

Andy Reid schemes will also be difficult to learn, however there are essential and straightforward ways in which the Chiefs can get the ball to beneficial and let the playmaker function.

One of those techniques can be with the Chiefs' lateral stretching plays, equivalent to sweeps or displays. These performs can get the ball in Xavie's hands right away and let the speed take over.

With the defense lined with a variety of cushion between themselves and Texas receivers, Texas went with a screen move to Worthy, and he straight away picks up near 20 yards before even being touched.

On plays like this, all it takes is one dangerous angle or a ignored defensive address, and Wothy can make defenses pay.

Texas runs a modified screen play and Xavier makes a catch within the flat. The play appears pretty basic at first, but where it is beneficial is the defenders take angles to run him out of bounds, however then the speed kicks in and Worthy turns up field. 

The Chiefs will probably use Xavier within the position they circled between Mecole Hardman, Kadarius Toney, and Richie James in 2023. This might contain him lining up in the backfield on some plays as well.

On a crucial third-down play, Texas comes out with Worthy in the backfield. On the snap, the receivers within the bunch formation take off, and Worthy runs to the flat. The quarterback puts the ball on Worthy's hands in stride and Xavier turns up the field out the flat. Defenders are covering the bunched Wars that are now at this time 20 yards down field and the safety that is covering Worthy in the back field again is simply too slow to cover. Eventually a DB will attack the line of scrimmage towards Worthy but not before Xavier picks up 13 yards and a critical 1st down. 

The bottom line

The Chiefs need to deliver their passing assault returned to an elite degree, and necessary will assist by means of ultimately fitting an explosive threat.

Due to his size, 6'1" and 178 lbs. many have speculated that Worthy may well be susceptible to injuries with the physicality of the NFL, however he has an underrated stage of longevity that all of the highest quality play with and his size is not that small. He should be fine.