Xavier Worthy selected 28th overall by the Kansas City Chiefs in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft
Texas wide receiver Xavier Worthy was picked with the 28th overall pick of the 2024 NFL Draft by the Kansas City Chiefs on Thursday, becoming the third wide receiver in school history to be picked in the first round.
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Worthy shot up draft boards with his record 4.21 time in the 40-yard dash at the 2024 NFL Combine in Indianapolis, Ind. His straight-line speed combined with his 41-inch vertical jump and 10 foot 11 inch broad jump verified the explosiveness with which he played on the field.
He leaves the Longhorns fourth in school history in receiving yards with 2755, sixth in receptions with 197, and third in touchdown receptions with 26 after starting every game during his three year career. His 75 catches in 2023 were the seventh most in a season in school history. He also recorded the 11th 1000-yard season in school history. Worthy played and started in all 39 possible games during his career.
Worthy became one of the most feared return specialists in the nation during his junior campaign. He earned second-team All-America honors as a punt returner by the FWAA and The Sporting News, plus similar honors as an all-purpose player by the AFCA. The AP named him a third-team All-American as an all-purpose player.
Worthy caught 75 passes for 1014 yards and and five touchdowns during the 2023 season. His most important catch came against the Alabama Crimson Tide in Tuscaloosa, Ala., when he hauled in a 44-yard touchdown reception as part of the Longhorns’ victory in Bryant-Denny Stadium. He also tallied a 74-yard touchdown on a punt return against BYU as part of his fantastic year in the third phase.
His sophomore season in 2022 was up and down as a result of an undisclosed hand injury that Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian didn’t reveal until the ensuing offseason. Even so, Worthy earned second-team All-Big 12 honors with 60 catches for 760 yards and nine touchdowns. He also completed a 33-yard touchdown pass to Ja’Tavion Sanders against West Virginia.
Worthy burst onto the scene as a late addition to Texas’ 2021 class after he was released from his letter of intent with Michigan. He set a number of freshman school receiving records and began his streak of 39 straight games with a reception. Worthy hauled in 62 catches for 981 yards and 12 touchdowns, and posted the third 200-yard game in school history against Oklahoma. His 981 yards and 12 touchdown receptions both were freshman records at Texas.
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He earned first-team All-Big 12 honors in 2021 and 2023 plus second-team all-conference honors in 2022.
Prior to Worthy’s selection there have been just two Texas wide receivers picked in the first round. Lam Jones was picked second overall in the 1980 NFL Draft by the New York Jets and Roy Williams was picked seventh overall by the Detroit Lions in the 2004 NFL Draft.
Worthy becomes the 358th Longhorn ever picked in the NFL draft and the 47th Texas product to be selected in the first round.
A member of the 2021 class, Worthy was ranked as the No. 55 overall prospect, the No. 7 wide receiver, and the No. 3 player in California in the 2021 On3 Industry Ranking, a proprietary algorithm that compiles ratings and rankings from all four primary recruiting media services.
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On3 ranked Worthy as the No. 18 overall prospect, the No. 2 wide receiver, and the No. 2 player in California.
