Draft Analysis: Xavier Worthy

March 17, 2024 /
  • Height: 5’11”
  • Weight: 165 lb.
  • College: Texas
  • Tape watched: Alabama, Kansas State, Oklahoma, Kansas
  • NFL Comparison: Marquise Brown fused with Kadarius Toney

Pros

  • Athleticism

A record-breaking performance in the 40-yard dash and 96th+ percentile explosion scores puts Xavier Worthy in rare territory for testing results. Undoubtably his greatest strength, Worthy’s speed is something you gameplan for, even if he doesn’t have a prominent role in the offense year one. Speed isn’t all Worthy brings, however. He is very twitchy and avoids tackles at a nice clip.

  • YAC

There is a very small window of opportunity to bring Xavier Worthy to the ground post-catch. Miss that window, and if he doesn’t score, he reaps yards from the defense. For his size, he is incredibly difficult to arm tackle. His lateral agility and ability to make defenders miss in space reminds me a lot of Kadarius Toney at Florida.

  • Route Running

Xavier Worthy is not a one-trick pony receiver. He is more than a deep threat and excels at creating space in the short to intermediate passing game. He snaps off vertical stems efficiently, he has a lightning quick speed cut, and the angles he takes on route breaks to stay away from defenders is focused. The only downside to Worthy’s route running is he was either not asked to find holes in zones, or he tries to outrun all of them. An NFL playbook will be more nuanced than Texas’. Worthy will have to read and react to the defense a lot more pre and post snap than in college.

Midline

  • Release

While he wasn’t pressed often, and Texas utilized him in the slot nearly 40% of his snaps, Worthy translates his explosiveness to his first steps after snap. Defenders rarely get a good punch on him. He dips his shoulder and avoids contact really well.

Notice the shoulder lean right before he leaves the frame

Cons

  • Size

1st percentile in weight at 165 pounds, Worthy’s entire NFL career will be an uphill battle to stay healthy and avoid unnecessary hits. He has short arms and small hands, further minimizing the throwing windows for his quarterback. He can’t be trusted to give anything consistent with blocking in the run game.

  • Hands

Worthy’s hands are a major concern. Every type of drop imaginable can be found in his college tape. He had focus drops trying to run before securing the ball, something NFL teams may have to live with his whole career. His aforementioned short arms and small hands rarely pull in passes outside of his frame. He noticeably short-arms catches across the middle of the field in anticipation of impending hits. I mentioned he reminds me of Kadarius Toney, and well, his hands aren’t far off either.

Overview

The speed Xavier Worthy possesses is universally known, even if you don’t follow football. He is a rare football player who looks noticeably different from everyone else on the field. The good news? His speed is breathtaking while watching him run by world-class athletes. The bad news? He looks like more of a middle schooler than Kyler Murray.

A team ready to properly utilize Worthy could have huge returns in his rookie season. The amount of space he creates and demands adds so many wrinkles to an offense.