KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Kansas City Chiefs were encouraged by the preseason play of rookie wide receiver Xavier Worthy, who set the scouting combine record of 4.21 seconds in the 40-yard dash. In limited playing time, Worthy caught a 39-yard pass from quarterback Patrick Mahomes and a 22-yard touchdown from backup Carson Wentz in a game against the Detroit Lions.
The Chiefs were just as excited about another Worthy play from that game that attracted less attention. Worthy ran a deep route and — to account for his speed — the Lions sent three defenders to cover him, leaving the middle of the field open.
That’s where another Chiefs wide receiver, Justin Watson, caught a pass for a 20-yard gain. Worthy was not only getting his own but creating for others.
“Xavier used all that speed to blow out three guys and I just found that spot right underneath him,” Watson said. “Usually, I’m the guy that’s taking the top off (the defense). It was nice being the guy that gets to catch.”
The Chiefs added another fast wide receiver during the offseason in free agent Marquise Brown, though he will not play in the season opener against the Baltimore Ravens (8:20 p.m. ET Thursday, NBC) after dislocating his shoulder in the preseason. They also kept another deep threat at receiver in Mecole Hardman, giving the Chiefs and Mahomes three extraordinarily fast options.
“We’ve got three guys that are all fast that can take the top off the defense, so they don’t know who exactly it’s going to be on each play,” Watson said. “And you’ve got to respect each one of those guys going on the field. If you don’t, we’re going to take you up top.”
The Chiefs have valued speed at wide receiver since Andy Reid arrived as head coach in 2013 but particularly since Mahomes became their starting quarterback in 2018. They drafted Tyreek Hill in 2016, signed Sammy Watkins in 2018 and drafted Hardman the next year.
The Chiefs called that receiving group the Legion of Zoom. But Hardman said this year’s group is faster.
“Then it was really just me and Tyreek,” Hardman said. “Sammy was pretty explosive as well. But as far as just speed, I think this group is probably a little bit faster. We got a little bit more, like three or four guys that actually can run.”
The Chiefs lacked deep speed last year. Hill and Watkins were gone and Hardman started the season with the New York Jets. He returned at midseason, playing in six regular-season games for the Chiefs.
Opponents believed the Chiefs had nobody to test them deep, which is one reason they struggled to get big pass plays like at no other time with Mahomes as their quarterback. The Chiefs knew that had to change, which is why they not only signed Brown and drafted Worthy, but re-signed Hardman, who was a free agent.
Worthy and Brown, after his return, should be in the lineup for most snaps. Hardman should also get some playing time while serving as speed insurance.
“It’s a quarterback league and it’s a speed game,” general manager Brett Veach said. “The more speed you have on the field, the harder it is for defenses to take away different elements of the game.
“We have a couple of guys now that I think can keep defenses guessing.”
That’s great in theory, but the Chiefs were happy to see it play out as it did against the Lions. Mahomes made a point in training camp to throw Worthy’s way as often as he could.
They had their share of completions, but it didn’t always work as well as it did against the Lions.
“Once you hit him over the top with that speed it helps open up the whole entire football field,” Mahomes said. “It’s going to help everyone in the entire offense having him, having (Brown), having Rashee (Rice) being able to break loose. It opens up the entire offense, which is something that I think will be big for us this year.”
The Chiefs were so determined to get the ball to Worthy that they called a deep post for him on the first play of their preseason in a game against the Jacksonville Jaguars. The Jaguars pressured Mahomes and he had to unload early, throwing to Brown on the play where he sustained the injury.
But it was still a part of the pattern the Chiefs had established, to put the thought in the minds of their opponents that they had this deep threat, and they weren’t shy about using him.
“Pat just wants to test me out, see if I’m ready,” Worthy said of his training camp and preseason activity.
Worthy didn’t play much in the preseason, only 23 snaps. He, like Mahomes and most of the offensive starters, were mostly preserved for the regular season.
But the things he was able to accomplish in limited playing time, including adjusting his route on the touchdown against the Lions, has the Chiefs thinking they will see more of it against the Ravens and beyond.
“He’s lightning fast, and so to see him processing the game fast and allowing him to play with a lot of that speed was just really cool to see,” Watson said. “Just good seeing him make smart decisions on that touchdown, recognize that there was no safety in the middle field, gave it a little stutter and then took the grass.”