The Speed Demon of The 2024 NFL Draft Class
By Peter Andrisani (The Mock Draft Guy)
In today’s article, we will be diving into yet another great receiver in this stacked 2024 NFL Draft class. The focal point of today’s profile is Texas Longhorn Xavier Worthy. Remember, the purpose of these player profile videos is to evaluate a player's Strengths, Areas for improvement, Scheme fit, team fits, pro comparison, and overall draft projection.
STRENGTHS
Xavier Worthy is a 6’1” 172-pound receiver with quite possibly the most impressive speed for the position in this year's draft class. Worthy has been timed at 4.29 in the forty-yard dash, a truly elite speed at the next level. Worthy has also been uber-productive for the Longhorns in a run-first offense. In a little less than 3 seasons so far, Worthy has produced 189 catches, 2680 scrimmage yards, and 26 receiving Touchdowns.
Xavier Worthy is a natural separator due to his elite speed. If Worthy is given even a little cushion, he’s as good as gone. He’s very hard to defend vertically, but he’s also a nightmare to defend on slants across the middle or routes that create space easily. Worthy is an explosive play waiting to happen, and he’s elite with the ball in his hands. He possesses good vision in the open field while having the lateral elusiveness to avoid would-be tacklers. Worthy is surprisingly slippery, even on screens where the blocks break down, Worthy can make something out of nothing.
Worthy has a very quick first step and can get to top speed in a hurry. He’s a naturally smooth and skilled route runner, making razor-sharp cuts, and believable selling ability. Worthy possesses surprising versatility for his size, lining up on the outside quite a bit, and in the slot. Worthy has also returned punts for the Longhorns. With his speed and playmaking ability, he has the opportunity to be deadly in the return game in the NFL.
Worthy is very good at working outside the numbers on the boundary, showing excellent ball-tracking skills. Worthy does the little things well downfield, including leaving enough room on the sideline for his quarterback to drop in a throw. Much like his counterpart Adonai Mitchell, Worthy has a comprehensive understanding of Spatial Awareness and makes it easy for Quarterbacks to find him, evidenced by the 106.5 quarterback rating when targeted.
WEAKNESSES
Xavier Worthy, like every other player, has his fair share of areas he can improve upon. The most obvious knock on Worthy is his weight. Worthy entered the Longhorns program in 2021 at just 160 pounds, and 3 seasons later, he is still just 172. Numerous questions can be asked surrounding this area. My first is will he be able to take shots over the middle at the NFL Level? We’ve seen him do well up until this point, but the NFL is a different beast. On top of that, We have seen that physical corners pose a big problem for Worthy. While he is tough to get hands-on, if he’s pressed at the line of scrimmage, he’s knocked off of his route pretty easily. Physical, confident press corners at the NFL level will shut down Worthy if he’s not motioned or involved in a screenplay of some sort.
Worthy lacks ideal play strength, on top of his lack of physicality on the outside, he’s essentially a liability as a blocker. He can't hold his block very long at all. I would suggest running away from his side of the field on the outside.
Worthy has also struggled with drops in the past couple of seasons. While I think this is more of a concentration problem, we’ve seen him flat-out drop balls that hit him between the hands. But more often than not, the drops come when Worthy is looking to turn and burn fast, so I would chalk that up to just a concentration problem, but it’s still enough of a concern to mention it.
SCHEME FIT
In terms of a Scheme fit for Xavier Worthy, he could excel in a vertical-oriented offense due to his game-changing speed and ability to stretch defenses. He also could flourish in an offense that likes to take advantage of screens and hit hitter routes. As Worthy is the type of player that can take any catch to the house, and I think offensive coordinators will be looking to exploit that.
TEAM FITS
Here are 5 teams that I think can look to draft Xavier Worthy in the 2024 NFL Draft:
The Dallas Cowboys. If Michael Gallup is cut, and Brandin Cooks is not resigned, the Cowboys have a glaring need opposite CeeDee Lamb. Worthy can provide that explosive deep threat that they currently don’t possess.
The Baltimore Ravens. The Ravens haven’t had a downfield burner since they traded Hollywood Brown. Worthy could be that quick boundary receiver the Ravens have been looking for.
The Carolina Panthers. The Panthers seemingly have a bunch of number 2 and 3 wide receivers on their team, with no true Number 1 option. Bryce Young could use a young speedy wide receiver to develop with.
The Tennessee Titans. The Titans cannot rely on DeAndre Hopkins to do it all, Their offense lacks some real explosiveness from the receiver position.
The Atlanta Falcons. The Falcons have some serious young offensive pieces. Bijan Robinson, Drake London, and Kyle Pitts. But no boundary option threatens down the field. Worthy would be an ideal answer.
PRO COMPARISON
My Pro comparison for Xavier Worthy is DeSean Jackson. I know I know, high praise, right? But Worthy’s game is eerily similar to Jackson’s. Worthy can fly on the outside, and has excellent ball tracking ability to grab those deep passes in stride and score. Not only that, Worthy can be effective in any way you can get the ball into his hands, similar to Jackson. Slants, Screens, Jet sweeps, whatever it may be, Worthy is a playmaker that can score with any touch. It's similar to one of the best deep threats of all time D-Jax.
DRAFT PROJECTION
Xavier Worthy is an extremely talented receiver with unbelievable speed, athleticism, and big play ability. But his lack of play strength and durability concerns might hinder his projection at the Next level. My draft projection for Worthy is early to mid-second round. But if he can continue to add weight and muscle to his frame, I could see him sneaking into round 1. As we know, speed kills at the NFL Level, and Xavier Worthy has plenty to burn.
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