Kansas City Chiefs rookie Xavier Worthy made his NFL debut last week with a pair of touchdowns in a win over the Baltimore Ravens.
Yet Cincinnati Bengals cornerback Cam Taylor-Britt is decidedly unimpressed.
Asked Thursday about defending the speedy receiver on Sunday in Kansas City, Taylor-Britt offered some criticism of Worthy, who set an NFL Draft combine record by running the 40-yard dash in 4.21 seconds.
Speed, that’s about it,’ Taylor-Britt said of Worthy’s skillset. ‘He can run straight – run jet sweeps and just run straight. He can’t do too much else, so that’s about it.’
The plan, according to Taylor-Britt, is to be physical within five yards of the line of scrimmage, where defenders aren’t subject to illegal contact penalties.
Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Xavier Worthy waits to run a drill during Week 1 warmups
Cincinnati Bengals cornerback Cam Taylor-Britt is decidedly unimpressed wit Xavier Worthy
‘I feel like if you put your hands on him, he’s only a hundred-something pounds,’ Taylor-Britt continued. ‘If you put hands on him, you’re going to stop his speed. So basically get your hands on him.’
Worthy did flash some serious speed in the Chiefs’ Week 1 win, recording two catches for 47 yards and a touchdown on top of a 21-yard scoring run.
Most importantly, he began building some trust with Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes.
‘It shows what he can do,’ Mahomes said of Worthy after the Week 1 win. ‘Obviously, it showed his speed. It showed how he’s able to run routes and find open spaces. … It’s just kind of a start for him. We want him to keep building. We want to get him more and more involved in the offense, but a great start.’
Many NFL fans have vented frustrations at the Buffalo Bills, who swung a draft-day trade that allowed Worthy to land in Kansas City, thereby giving the two-time defending champions another potent weapon.
‘The Buffalo Bills screwed the entire NFL by allowing the Chiefs to draft Xavier Worthy,’ one fan wrote on X. ‘It will be a mistake that haunts Buffalo for many years & will do serious damage to the entire entirety of the league. Worthy’s speed is just absurd.’
Retired Houston Texans legend JJ Watt kept things pretty straight forward: ‘Xavier Worthy fast as s***. Good lord.’
Patrick Mahomes (right) is a big fan of young Xavier Worthy after the rookie’s two-TD effort
There is some logic behind Bills GM Brandon Beane’s decision to make the trade.
Yes, the Bills could have stayed at No. 28 in the first round and simply taken Worthy themselves.
However, the team would pick another wideout, Keon Coleman, five picks later, suggesting that Buffalo’s front office preferred the Florida State product.
And while it remains to be seen if Coleman or Worthy will end up being the better NFL player, Beane’s trade did allow Buffalo to flip a fourth-round selection to Kansas City for a third-round pick.
Ultimately the Bills would use that third rounder on Duke defensive tackle DeWayne Carter, who could provide some much-needed depth along the line.
‘There are other moving parts, but #Bills trading 28 to KC was basically Xavier Worthy for Keon Coleman and DeWayne Carter,’ one fan explained.
Although the Bengals were upset in Week 1 by the New England Patriots, Cincinnati did hold quarterback Jacoby Brissett to just 121 passing yards.
