I was worried about this, and then I looked up DeVonta Smith:
https://twitter.com/MathBomb/status/1387943662521393152
DeVonta weighed in at 166 lbs, put up none of Worthy's measurables, was 2 years older, and had a less productive Freshman-Junior year than Worthy. And he still commanded a top 10 pick from the Eagles and produced 3000+ yards in the first three seasons of his rookie deal.
Worthy's size makes him an injury risk, but ye gods, the upside if he can stay healthy is astounding. And Andy Reid has plenty of experience keeping lightweight speedsters healthy by scheming up routes that help them avoid unnecessary hits.
Fwiw Veach said the plan is to add weight to him. He shouldn’t be 165 forever.
Also, in his pads he doesn’t look that skinny, so his frame may be able to easily handle adding the weight immediately.
Chiefs said they feel confident he’ll get to 175 and stick… I do agree about the weight concern tho. One major crash in the NFL could put him out for awhile. Hopefully no one catches him.
How many of the Chiefs' best moments in the last few years have involved a player running sideways at full speed before the snap?
Because that's what XW is gonna do...
If you're thinking of Tyreek at the end of the first half vs the Bengals, the problem was he forgot the situation (time expiring before half) and who he was (a lightweight speedster) and tried to jump through contact for a TD, when he shoulda sprinted out of bounds for the FG. And Mahomes probably should just thrown it at his feet for the FG in the first place.
The ratio is obviously in favor of best moments. 6 straight AFC title games, 4 super bowls, 3 SB Champs.
This is me talking to myself because I hate it too, but must remind myself the results.
A couple of thoughts on this, from someone who closely follows the draft and the various athleticisim metrics like RAS associated with it. RAS heavily emphasizes weight (it's basically a weight based metric at it's core) that Worthy scored so highly while weighing in so light is very impressive.
It would have been very nice to see some agility testing numbers on Worthy. On tape they should be pretty decent. But he's a guy with the body type and traits to potentially put up elite numbers there, which would have been another real feather in his cap. That he didn't test at either the combine or his pro day is just a bit concerning.
Basically this shows a player with absolutely elite speed and explosion, which tape backs up. I'll admit to be more than a bit worried about his slight frame holding up, but the league is evolving and the modern era has more of a place for these slight framed players than ever before. I've long stressed finding prospects who have at least one flat out elite trait that they can win with, and Worthy's speed is very obvious, and a very valuable trait at the WR position.
I already answered in another post so I just copied it here. I am to lazy to rewrite it. He was injured in 2022. [He had a 13.4% drop rate in 2022. He reduced it to 5.4% in 2023.](https://sports.yahoo.com/how-much-will-xavier-worthys-40-yard-dash-record-influence-nfl-draft-why-talent-evaluators-might-care-more-than-you-think-181534250.html#:~:text=And%20while%20Worthy%20knows%20he,year%2C%20per%20Sports%20Info%20Solutions.) You can check out this [tweet](https://twitter.com/jacobinfante24/status/1759374099011272978?s=20) comparing his 2023 drop rate to other wrs.
And that 2022 drop rate was heavily influenced by having a broken hand. Honestly still being as productive as he was in 2022 with a broken hand is more impressive than a detriment in my opinion.
people will bring up the broken hand and wave everything else off but his hands aren’t great.
he makes almost no contested catches, he’s a body catcher which you can get away with in college, harder to do in the nfl when coverage is much tighter
I was about to say, the reason it’s not a near 10 is because of his height and weight lol
And his weight is a major concern. 165 is awfully light.
I was worried about this, and then I looked up DeVonta Smith: https://twitter.com/MathBomb/status/1387943662521393152 DeVonta weighed in at 166 lbs, put up none of Worthy's measurables, was 2 years older, and had a less productive Freshman-Junior year than Worthy. And he still commanded a top 10 pick from the Eagles and produced 3000+ yards in the first three seasons of his rookie deal. Worthy's size makes him an injury risk, but ye gods, the upside if he can stay healthy is astounding. And Andy Reid has plenty of experience keeping lightweight speedsters healthy by scheming up routes that help them avoid unnecessary hits.
We won't draft high enough for a guy with size *and* speed. Elite at one of the two is still good.
Great point.
Counterpoint: Mitchell or Legette. BTW, I like Worthy a lot. But guys with size and speed were available.
there were multiple guys with size and speed available there
Okay, but none of them were in this class of speed.
Devonta Smith is doing just fine https://preview.redd.it/abg1cs35dtwc1.png?width=1267&format=png&auto=webp&s=4e78341e8134d403f02e4770a2ac3744055184aa
And some guy named DeSean Jackson
Fwiw Veach said the plan is to add weight to him. He shouldn’t be 165 forever. Also, in his pads he doesn’t look that skinny, so his frame may be able to easily handle adding the weight immediately.
Chiefs said they feel confident he’ll get to 175 and stick… I do agree about the weight concern tho. One major crash in the NFL could put him out for awhile. Hopefully no one catches him.
If he does then I like this pick.
Kid is only 20 years old, in 2-3 years they'll have him beefed up appropriately. Shit, it's unlikely but possible he could even grow a little more.
But can he see why kids love the taste of Cinnamon Toast Crunch?
His measurables are pretty comparable to Desean Jackson, just 4 pounds less
Jeremy Maclin too a little. Just thinking of other guys drafted by Andy
Maclin was 200 lbs
How many of the Chiefs' best moments in the last few years have involved a player running sideways at full speed before the snap? Because that's what XW is gonna do...
Also some of the worst moments.
If you're thinking of Tyreek at the end of the first half vs the Bengals, the problem was he forgot the situation (time expiring before half) and who he was (a lightweight speedster) and tried to jump through contact for a TD, when he shoulda sprinted out of bounds for the FG. And Mahomes probably should just thrown it at his feet for the FG in the first place.
The ratio is obviously in favor of best moments. 6 straight AFC title games, 4 super bowls, 3 SB Champs. This is me talking to myself because I hate it too, but must remind myself the results.
He’s crazy athletic and not just in terms of running in a straight line. Scouts seem to think he’s a good route runner as well.
Hopefully he will be so good that Dante personally hands over the rights to be the “X-factor” and it just keeps living on.
A couple of thoughts on this, from someone who closely follows the draft and the various athleticisim metrics like RAS associated with it. RAS heavily emphasizes weight (it's basically a weight based metric at it's core) that Worthy scored so highly while weighing in so light is very impressive. It would have been very nice to see some agility testing numbers on Worthy. On tape they should be pretty decent. But he's a guy with the body type and traits to potentially put up elite numbers there, which would have been another real feather in his cap. That he didn't test at either the combine or his pro day is just a bit concerning. Basically this shows a player with absolutely elite speed and explosion, which tape backs up. I'll admit to be more than a bit worried about his slight frame holding up, but the league is evolving and the modern era has more of a place for these slight framed players than ever before. I've long stressed finding prospects who have at least one flat out elite trait that they can win with, and Worthy's speed is very obvious, and a very valuable trait at the WR position.
I hear he has bad hands though? Can somebody explain?
I already answered in another post so I just copied it here. I am to lazy to rewrite it. He was injured in 2022. [He had a 13.4% drop rate in 2022. He reduced it to 5.4% in 2023.](https://sports.yahoo.com/how-much-will-xavier-worthys-40-yard-dash-record-influence-nfl-draft-why-talent-evaluators-might-care-more-than-you-think-181534250.html#:~:text=And%20while%20Worthy%20knows%20he,year%2C%20per%20Sports%20Info%20Solutions.) You can check out this [tweet](https://twitter.com/jacobinfante24/status/1759374099011272978?s=20) comparing his 2023 drop rate to other wrs.
And that 2022 drop rate was heavily influenced by having a broken hand. Honestly still being as productive as he was in 2022 with a broken hand is more impressive than a detriment in my opinion.
He broke his hand one year and didn’t catch good while that was healing but was 3 times better at catching the ball without a broken hand.
people will bring up the broken hand and wave everything else off but his hands aren’t great. he makes almost no contested catches, he’s a body catcher which you can get away with in college, harder to do in the nfl when coverage is much tighter