Xavier Worthy, Adonai Mitchell now more likely to make Longhorn NFL Draft history
Texas has never had two receivers selected in the first round of the same draft. In fact, Texas only has two first-round wide receivers in program history. Lam Jones was picked second overall by the New York Jets in the 1980 NFL Draft while Roy Williams was taken with the seventh pick by the Detroit Lions in 2004.
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Thanks to their own standout play as Longhorns, strong NFL Combine and pro day performances, plus a few notable pre-draft events, Xavier Worthy and Adonai Mitchell could make history for the Longhorn football program if they’re both selected in the first 32 picks. Not only would they be the first pair of UT receivers to go in the first round, they’d double the amount of first-round receivers put into the draft by the Longhorns.
Worthy and Mitchell are thought to be in the “1B” tier of receivers in the 2024 draft after the “1A” group of Marvin Harrison Jr., Malik Nabers, and Rome Odunze. Along with Worthy and Mitchell, another LSU Tiger in Brian Thomas Jr. resides in 1B.
All six of those players are deserving of first-round billing, but team needs impact selections just as much as talent. A number of teams are picking in the late first round with a need at wideout and likely will have their eyes on Mitchell and Worthy, especially after a major Wednesday trade and an off-the-field issue came to light involving teams in the late first.
On Wednesday, the Buffalo Bills traded Stefon Diggs, a sixth-round pick, and a 2025 fifth-round pick to the Houston Texans in exchange for a 2025 second-round selection Houston acquired from the Minnesota Vikings.
Without Diggs, Buffalo returns 119 catches for 1475 yards and six touchdowns in terms of combined 2023 production from Justin Shorter, Khalil Shakir, Curtis Samuel, and Mack Hollins. If the Bills weren’t already looking to add a first-round caliber wide receiver for Josh Allen at No. 28, they surely are now in the wake of trading Diggs.
That was something reflected in Field Yates’ two-round mock draft released Wednesday prior to the news of the Diggs trade. Yates had Buffalo picking Worthy with pick No. 28. A few picks ahead of Worthy at No. 23, Yates had the Los Angeles Chargers trading down from No. 5 to pick Mitchell.
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Teams at the top of the draft like the Chargers, the Arizona Cardinals, the New York Giants, and the Chicago Bears all have needs at wideout and appear likely to look in tier 1A to satiate them.
After that, the Diggs trade could affect how Buffalo and a number of other teams draft later this month. The Bills, the Cincinnati Bengals, and even the Kansas City Chiefs at the end of the draft might look for a first-round pass-catcher too, especially Kansas City in order to bolster the Patrick Mahomes-led offense and with uncertainty surrounding Rashee Rice after his recent car accident.
If both Worthy and Mitchell find homes during the first 32 selections, it would double the amount of first-round wideouts produced by Texas. Plus, a third Longhorn in defensive tackle Byron Murphy II would likely join them, giving the Longhorns three first-rounders in a single draft for the second time in school history and first since 1980 when Jones, Johnnie Johnson, and Derrick Hatchett heard their names called.
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Several different draft dominoes have dropped in recent days and weeks. As a result, the Longhorns’ chances of putting two wide receivers in the first round have only risen.
