One of the most important stories of Kansas City Chiefs‘ The 2023-24 season was one of wide receiver Rashee Rice flourishing throughout the year. Between Week 1 and the end of the season, the second-round pick grew into the offense and became one of the top two targets in the passing game.

With Rice out for the remainder of his second year, could this year’s rookie do something similar? No. 28 overall pick Xavier Worthy is experiencing a mixed debut with Kansas City, posting respectable stats but failing to make the overall impact many expected when he was selected in April.

Given Worthy’s expectations, how does the team feel about his prospects moving forward? Passing game coordinator Joe Bleymaier believes the freshman is progressing and could be on a similar developmental arc as Rice a year ago.

“I think that’s accurate, that’s a good observation,” Bleymaier said. “Regardless, I think, of what some statistics say, especially last year with Rashee, every week he grew and became more and more comfortable both in what we were doing and how it was best for him to be able to accomplish that.” And it’s very similar with Xavier, he comes in and you want to focus on what he’s good at and then you want to give him complementary things. He is feeling more and more comfortable in those routes or those maneuvers against the defenses that he. Maybe I didn’t feel as comfortable at the beginning of the season. That doesn’t always show up on the stat sheet, but as the season goes on, that comfort level starts to show up with him winning routes and catching passes.”

If Worthy could replicate that production, it would be a truly impressive feat. Not many saw it coming for Rice during his first seven games. In Weeks 1-7 of last year, he had 34 targets and 26 receptions for 305 yards and three touchdowns. Entering the Chiefs’ eighth game, Worthy has 37 targets, 19 receptions, 235 yards and three touchdowns. He also has a higher target percentage (24) in games five, six and seven than Rice (15). To make matters worse, he has also received more snaps (296) than Rice (198) when comparing starts.

The rest was history for Rice, who finished with more than 900 yards and seven touchdowns. Worthy, on the other hand, is being given more opportunities but fails to convert when facing man coverage or when quarterback Patrick Mahomes throws him a bone. Mahomes still doesn’t have the same chemistry with Worthy. Bleymaier still thinks that even when the numbers don’t show it, Worthy is winning in new ways.

“I wish I could use the clicker and show them all to you,” Bleymaier said. “We’d be here all day. There are cases where he’s really smart when he sets up a guy and uses his speed to not only run by someone and score a deep touchdown, but also to stop and change direction. And then to maneuver. how defenses are playing him underneath, where previously he might have run into some traffic or gotten into a jam in one direction. He’s maneuvering, he’s recognizing those things, he’s getting clean throws.”

Last month, head coach Andy Reid praised Worthy for being a “quick learner“From an effort or upside standpoint, there’s no denying what he can do. A direct comparison to a rookie Rice seems flawed, especially given the differences in the two players’ tasks within the offense. The traits: understanding coverages, improving hand fighting, However, becoming more physical and learning from mistakes can evolve in a similar way.

That’s exactly what the Chiefs appear to be banking on as Monday night’s game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers approaches.

“That’s all very similar to what you said,” Bleymaier said. “Especially in Week (9), I think we have to start continuing to grow him with routes outside of his comfort level and then that can get him back to the things he’s really good at: giving defenses a different look. That It’s something we did with Rashee all last year: continue to give him the things he was great at and then challenge him and push the limits so defenses couldn’t sit on one or two things.”

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