Xavier Worthy Fantasy Overview

2025 Role & Results

Production & Fantasy Finishes

Worthy caught 42 of 73 targets for 532 yards and a TD in 2025.

He finished WR59 in 2025 with 109.9 PPR points across 14 games, averaging 7.9 points per game (WR67). That marked a tumble from the 11.0 PPR points per game (WR41) of his rookie season.

Usage & Role

His target share across 13 games (excluding Week 1 when Worthy injured his shoulder in the first quarter) was 16.1%, which ranked 45th among 76 WRs with 50+ targets.

The shoulder injury cost him the next two games and plagued him throughout the season. He indicated that it limited what he could do all season. He had surgery on the shoulder in January and remained in a no-contact jersey through spring workouts.

His efficiency numbers across both seasons show a player who hasn't improved in any meaningful category:

Worthy's 4.21 speed showed up in his role, giving him the deepest aDOT among Chiefs WRs.

The YAC decline is particularly notable, though. Worthy flashed legitimate after-catch upside in 2024 (7.1 YAC per reception, 10th), but that number dropped to 4.9 in 2025 while his YAC over expected fell to dead last among qualifying receivers.

The deeper aDOT almost certainly impacted the YAC/rec decline. The shorter the target, the more the play relies on after-catch gains. But his tumble in YAC vs. expectation shows he deserved some blame as well.

Of course, Worthy’s higher number in 2024 still ranked just 54th. So he has yet to show much NFL aptitude in that area.

Efficiency & Regression

Worthy actually performed slightly better when Rashee Rice was on the field:

That means you should at least not worry about a healthier season for Rice hurting Worthy’s fantasy outlook. Indeed, there’s a chance that having Rice on the field helps Worthy by boosting the offense on whole and drawing defensive focus.

Leveraging that into a meaningful production increase would still rely on Worthy improving his play, and perhaps a role shift that would include more short-to-intermediate targets to enhance his catch total.

2026 Opportunity & Projection

Projected Role & Competition

The target competition doesn't change much for Worthy.

Rice returns as the clear No. 1 after posting a 26.5% target share in eight full games last season. His 4.9 aDOT versus Worthy's 12.5 shows how different their jobs are, and Rice should keep owning the short-area role.

Travis Kelce remains the primary tight end and commanded an 18.5% target share in 2025, but his numbers are declining. His 1.47 YPRR was a career low and his target share dropped nearly four percentage points from 2024.

Coaching & Offensive Scheme

New Chiefs WRs coach Chad O’Shea was highly complimentary of Worthy in spring practices.

“He’s very coachable. He’s not an error-repeater. So we correct mistakes, and he moves on very quickly,” O’Shea said. “So that’s something I don’t think you see, when somebody’s watching the film or watching from the stands, is how good he is in his preparation.”

Worthy reportedly starred at OTAs, which offers some hope for his development.

Paths To Ceiling

Worthy's ceiling is a WR3 season in a revived Chiefs offense. He could develop heading into his third season. Rice is volatile with his injury and off-field history while Kelce could fall off heading into his age-37 season. That could open the door for Worthy to hit the highest finish of his career.

Risk Factors

The two main risk factors for Worthy look like this:

1. A limited Mahomes cuts into overall offensive output
2. Worthy fails to gain a larger share of the passing game while continuing the lackluster efficiency of 2025

Those aspects could keep the young wideout mere bench fodder for lineup-setting leagues.