Wide Receiver · Kansas City Chiefs
Xavier Worthy — 2026 Fantasy Outlook
Analysis by Shawn Childs, from his 2026 guide — his words, unedited.
The case
- · A dislocated right shoulder in Week 1 ended up being a torn labrum (surgery after the season), leaving drafters wondering what Worthy would have done in his sophomore campaign.
- · He scored under 11.50 PPR fantasy points in any game in 2025, while playing three games without Patrick Mahomes.
- · Worthy had a stud over the Chiefs’ final seven games (40/535/6 on 52 targets and 11 carries), leading to him averaging 18.50 PPR fantasy points per game.
- · Kansas City has given him over eight targets in only four of his possible 31 starts.
Question marks
- · An injury in early August (sprained right shoulder) puts Worthy in a draft holding pattern for risk-averse drafters.
- · Will the Chiefs’ offense regain this previous form with Patrick Mahomes coming off a significant injury and Travis Kelce down the home stretch of his career?
Shawn's conclusion
The Chiefs’ passing game will be discounted in 2026 for various reasons. Kansas City struggled to get him in space early in his rookie season, making Worthy more of a gimmick player with the ability to beat defenses over the top. The foundation of his skill set didn’t develop last year due to his shoulder injury, leaving the fantasy market in a quandary about his ceiling.
More on Worthy
Kansas City used its 28th pick in the 2024 NFL Draft on Worthy, betting on his elite speed (4.21 forty) to add a new dimension to their offense. At 5'11" and 165 pounds, his frame is slight, and press coverage at the line will be an ongoing challenge, particularly in the red zone early in his career. But his vision is advanced, and defenses will have to account for him deep on every snap.
At Texas, Worthy caught 197 passes for 2,755 yards and 26 touchdowns across three seasons on 342 targets. His 57.6% catch rate and 14.0 yards per reception suggest a player used more as a big-play threat than a volume option. His best touchdown season came as a freshman (12 scores), and he topped 100 receiving yards just twice in 2023 (8/108 and 10/137).
His rookie year followed a familiar boom-bust arc. He opened with a bang in Week 1 (2/68/2, including a rushing score) before going relatively quiet over the next eight games (18/199/2 on 40 targets), with a few carries mixed in (8/16/1). Then he found his rhythm over his final 11 starts, excluding a one-snap rest game in Week 18. Worthy was one of the more productive receivers in football, posting 58 catches for 754 yards and seven touchdowns on 76 targets, capped by a statement Super Bowl performance (8/157/2).
He finished 33rd in PPR wide receiver scoring (188.20 points), highlighted by four winnings games (7/75/1, 8/89/1, 6/101/1, and 8/1572) after Week 15. Kansas City increasingly featured him closer to the line of scrimmage (his 10.8 yards per catch reflects that usage), and he had eight or more targets in six games. The one lingering concern is his lack of true explosion in the regular season; just one catch of 40-plus yards all year suggests the deep threat potential hasn't fully translated yet.
A Week 1 shoulder injury after three snaps last season led to Worthy missing two more games. Over his next 12 games, he caught 42 passes for 618 yards and one touchdown on 69 targets, leading to him averaging only 9.15 PPR fantasy points per game. His best success came from Week 4 (5/121), Week 5 (6/51), and Week 6 (2/26/1). Worthy missed Week 18 with an illness while gaining only one yard on one carry in the previous game.
In the end, was Worthy’s huge step back in play due to his early shoulder issue? Or was it a lack of development?
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