Patrick Mahomes' praise of Xavier Worthy's progress should worry rest of NFL

The Chiefs have to be thrilled with the progress they've seen in the connection between Mahomes and Worthy in their first camp together.

When the Kansas City Chiefs selected Xavier Worthy in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft, the primary hope was that the team had finally answered long-term concerns with the vertical components of the offense. Now it seems as if some of those returns might be seen in short order.

Ever since the Chiefs traded away Tyreek Hill in the spring of 2022, the Chiefs have been missing a dynamism on offense that has limited what quarterback Patrick Mahomes can do. It hasn't stymied the team's ability to pile on championships—amazingly enough—but Mahomes even admitted that last season wasn't much fun with so many frustrations and a limited WR corps.

What's missing is that downfield target, a player who, like Hill, can not only beat defenders with his acceleration and deep speed but also track the ball to haul in the catch. Players like Marquez Valdes-Scantling were missing the latter, which kept greater trust from ever developing (or caused mental hurdles to enter the picture).

The hope when selecting Worthy (and even trading up for him with the Buffalo Bills) was that the acquisition of his record-setting speed would provide some immediate dividends as he grew into a larger role over time. As it turns out, Worthy sounds ready for a greater role than expected.

So far in training camp, Worthy has been able to push through some early hamstring frustrations to showcase a very real connection and chemistry with Mahomes.

"He does a great job. He's fast, but it's almost like he can run fast, but he can run with pace, fast," said Mahomes from Chiefs training camp, per our friend Pete Sweeney. "He's able to track the ball really well, he runs a lot of great routes, and he's going to get as physical as any camp here. He's doing a great job, trying to fight off press as best he can, getting through there, making plays happen.

"And so he'll keep getting better and better. If he can get through this camp, he'll be able to get through a lot of stuff. I'm excited for him and how he's progressed throughout camp."

The clips tell the story of both Worthy's blazing speed and tracking skills. Check out some of the clips below:

That said, the evidence has been there all along for those unwilling to lazily label Worthy as a too-slight speed receiver.

No one yet knows how Worthy's skills will translate to actual games, but Chiefs Kingdom will get their first taste of this rebuilt wide receiver room with the preseason slate starting soon. If Mahomes is right, we might see a much greater impact from the team's first-round pick than expected in 2024.