Why Patrick Mahomes knew Xavier Worthy was right for Chiefs
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — As this year’s NFL draft approached, general manager Brett Veach met with quarterback Patrick Mahomes to discuss some of the players the Kansas City Chiefs were considering with their first-round pick.
Veach and the Chiefs didn’t plan to defer on the choice to Mahomes but were certainly interested in his opinions. Mahomes walked into the meeting having studied enough video on wide receivers that Veach called him a “tape-a-holic.”
The two-time NFL MVP had broken down film on Georgia’s Ladd McConkey and Florida State’s Keon Coleman — but he had a different favorite. The one with the slight build from the University of Texas who had recently run the 40-yard dash in 4.21 seconds, a record for the scouting combine.
Mahomes liked the speed of this receiver, Xavier Worthy, and sent Veach a fire emoji after news of Worthy’s 40 at the combine.
“Just route running [and] a guy that played physical, too,” Mahomes said about what he liked about Worthy. “For him to not weigh a ton, he plays hard, he plays through stuff. He goes out there and competes, and then the speed, obviously it opens up the field, but he’s not just a fast receiver.
“He plays hard, plays fast and you want those types of guys on your football team.”
The Chiefs got Mahomes the receiver he wanted. They traded up a few spots late in the first round rather than hope he slipped to them at the 32nd pick. They saw instant results in their season-opening 27-20 win Thursday night against the Baltimore Ravens, with Worthy scoring two touchdowns, including a pivotal fourth-quarter 35-yard score.
“Pat doesn’t just come in and say, ‘Let’s draft a wideout,'” Veach said. “Well, there’s a lot of wideouts. But Pat has a vision like a coach has a vision. He’ll pull out plays from a game like he’s seen it all. He’s done the work. It’s not just TV scouting but actual film work.
“Of the guys we were talking about, Worthy was the guy he really liked. He doesn’t rank guys. He just tells you what he thinks. But you could tell that he was most excited about Worthy.”
