Chiefs Coach Shares Big Reveal About Rookie After Week 16 Win

The Kansas City Chiefs are riding high after their win over the Houston Texans on Saturday. That one-score win required contributions from every single player who was active with the team facing a tough opponent on a short week and dealing with various health issues at key positions.

While this game marked the debut of wide receiver Marquise Brown, who even impressed in his first taste of 2024 snaps, it was fellow wideout Xavier Worthy who stole the show and took the lead in the Chiefs' passing game efforts.

After that performance, one Kansas City coach thinks this outing has officially marked the beginning of the next stage for the playmaking rookie.

Chiefs offensive coordinator Matt Nagy believes Worthy is following the trajectory that Rashee Rice did in his first NFL campaign. Nagy notes that Rice also had a quieter beginning to his career, but starting around the midway point he got a "sense" the wideout was on the verge of putting it all together. He then did just that, going on a scorching run toward the end of the 2023 campaign and carrying that over into the postseason to help KC defend its title.

And now, Nagy sees the same thing in Worthy, who is now "naturally" seeing more targets and offering more production now that he's fully in the groove.

These comments from the Chiefs' offensive coordinator surely have to excite fans. Rice's second-half breakout in 2023 was a key driving force behind the team's playoffs success, as he firmly established himself as one of Patrick Mahomes' go-to targets in the biggest moments.

The fact Worthy appears to be getting to that point as well is massive, especially with Rice out for the year. With Mahomes also nursing another ankle injury, he needs receivers he can trust to make plays with the ball in their hands, and Worthy is showing his star QB he can be entrusted to do just that.