Kansas City Chiefs rookie receiver Xavier Worthy knows it is his job at the end of the day, but he is having a lot of fun playing with his team each week.
How could he not be happy when he is 12-1 to start off his first season in the NFL. Not many rookies get that luxury.
However, the first-round pick learned quickly what comes with the territory of being a team in search of three Super Bowls – playing the villain role.
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Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Xavier Worthy, #1, in the second half against the Las Vegas Raiders at Allegiant Stadium. (Kirby Lee-Imagn Images)
Worthy, who broke the NFL Scouting Combine 40-yard dash record back in April, said he hears the outside noise, especially those wanting the Chiefs to lose each week.
“I feel like everybody just wants us to lose,” Worthy told Fox News Digital after highlighting the fun he had with the DICKS Holiday Shopping Sprint to impact kids in the Kansas City area for the holidays.
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“Every week, it’s a new excuse. First, the goal post is helping us. Then, it’s the refs helping us. I mean, we can’t get a break. But it’s cool to have that. It shows that everybody wants us to lose, we have a target on our backs, and we have to continue working each and every week.”
The Chiefs are a dynasty, and Worthy entered the fray right after they defeated the San Francisco 49ers in overtime to collect back-to-back Vince Lombardi trophies.
Just ask any other dynasty in the NFL what happens when they are on top. Fans will raise them up and ultimately want to watch them fall with a new winner crowned.
However, Worthy brings up a reason why some fans cannot stand to watch the Chiefs stack wins. They have been in so many close games this season, but they have maintained their winning streak in those one-score bouts.
Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins, #8, celebrates with wide receiver Xavier Worthy, #1, after scoring against the Los Angeles Chargers during the first half at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. (Denny Medley-Imagn Images)
For the last 15 games that have been determined by one score, the Chiefs have come out victorious. Yes, the goal post was involved this past week as Matthew Wright doinked it off the left side, but it went through to beat the Los Angeles Chargers. Additionally, there have been some controversial calls that have gone the Chiefs’ way in the end.
Being the villain, though, is not something the Chiefs care about. They embrace it, and Worthy is just getting a taste of what Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce and other veterans on the team have been feeling since last season.
“It fuels us,” Worthy explained. “A lot of people say it’s hate, like, ‘Oh, people are always going against us.’ But how we look at it, the world’s watching us. You have all these eyes – you make the best of the opportunity with all these eyes on you.”
Worthy is no stranger to having a target on his back after playing for a large college program like the Texas Longhorns.
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However, he touched on the senior leadership that helps guide the pact, especially Mahomes, who he continues to build a rapport with each week.
The proof is in the game tape, as Mahomes, scrambling on fourth-and-6 to continue the team’s game-winning drive, threw a pass to Worthy with the game on the line, and he came back to the ball, secured it and kept the drive alive.
He even injured himself on the play, but his quarterback trusted him with the game on the line. A little pain is worth it in that case.
“I actually dislocated my finger on that same play,” he said. “I popped it back in right after that – you can see it in the video. But, it’s huge to be able to have that trust from my quarterback in the NFL. I feel like everybody talks about being that guy in the NFL, so just to be able to build that trust and stack days with your quarterback is huge.”
With four games remaining and the AFC West title locked up for the ninth straight season, Worthy knows he will also be a rookie that enjoys playoff football at the end of the regular season.
He is also well aware that the target will be even larger with the Chiefs looking to become the first team ever to win three straight Super Bowls.
If Kansas City has to be the villain to do so, then that is perfectly fine for Worthy, who is solely focused on being the team’s hero when it is his turn to make a play.
Xavier Worthy piles up a shopping cart with footballs at DICK’S Sporting Goods. (DICK’S Sporting Goods)
IMPACTING YOUTH IN KC WITH DICKS
While Worthy has the pleasure of gracing a field with Mahomes, Kelce and so many other Chiefs legends, he also gets to impact the Kansas City community just like them, too.
That is exactly what happened with this year’s DICK’S Holiday Shopping Sprint, where two lucky winners – Tanisha and her 8-year-old son, AJ, as well as Molly from the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Kansas City – curated a $2,500 holiday wish list that Worthy collected with his record-breaking speed and brought to them personally.
“It was fun,” he said of the experience. “It was always something I wanted to do just to give back to the community where I’m at, and it was just fun to see the reactions on the kids’ faces. It brightened my day.”
Xavier Worthy poses with family who won the DICKS Sporting Goods Holiday Shopping Sprint. (DICKS Sporting Goods)
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Worth took pictures, had some catches and enjoyed the opportunity to make these kids and their families smile.
“Surprising our athletes with gifts off their list was such a delight,” said Melissa Christian, vice president of global brand and category marketing at DICK’S Sporting Goods. “This was another way we could meet our athletes where they are – literally! – and to do to it in record time by having Xavier Worthy, who is known for his speed, shop and deliver to doorsteps was even more fun. He was the perfect partner for this year’s Holiday Shopping Sprint.”
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