Andy Reid’s Message To Xavier Worthy Hints At The Deep Ball Being A Bigger Part of The Chiefs Offense This Year

Patrick Mahomes didn’t have the best passing season last year, but he had noticeable on-field chemistry with Xavier Worthy. Especially in the waning stages of the Super Bowl blowout, the two connected on several deep passes as the Chiefs scrambled to get back in the game. It made us wonder while watching if there is more of that to come in 2025 and beyond.

After all, Mahomes throwing to a pacey wide receiver like Worthy is a great ploy. He hasn’t had a wideout with similar speed since Tyreek Hill left after 2021. And we all know he was a regular 1200-yard receiver with 10+ touchdowns under Mahomes. So, Andy Reid would be smart to exploit the new pairing to its fullest this season.

Worthy even recently said that Reid told him to be prepared for a lot of running during OTAs. 

“Coach Reid told us during OTAs phase one, ‘When you come back, get your hamstrings ready.’ So, we kinda knew that we’d be going deep in practice, so we got our minds and bodies right,” Worthy shared on Up & Adams. 

Maybe the coach meant it as a general sense of preparing for the season. But with the way he specified about Worthy’s hamstrings, we tend to believe he was trying to give him a heads up of what’s to come. 

Worthy of The Punt Returner?

Furthermore, may we see Worthy and Mahomes connecting on deep balls more regularly? Maybe. But we also might see the speedy receiver return punts this season. His special-teams coach, Dave Tobe, says that he’s the best punt returner that nobody has seen in the NFL. So, Kay Adams wanted to know if we’ll see it in action.

“Stay tuned, I can’t drop that yet… I think every time I touch the ball, I’m liable to score. So, if I have that chance to be on punt returns, change the game for my team, I’m going to do it,” Worthy said.

Not only that, but he also shared that he watches a lot of Devin Hester tape to stay prepared.

“I always watch Devin Hester highlights. We always watch him in the special teams meeting,” he added.

It would be fun to watch Worthy return punts in the regular season. His speed would make him hard to catch and worthy (pun intended) of returning the ball for a touchdown with every touch. However, his lack of strength and size would also make him a massive injury risk.

So, we’ll see what Reid ends up cooking for Worthy. He’s an electric receiver going into year 2 who could take the leap if things go well. There’s no better situation than to have Mahomes throwing to you. Let’s see if he makes the most of it or if he becomes the next Skyy Moore.