Kansas City Chiefs rookie receiver Xavier Worthy has a lot on his mind as he gears up for his first AFC Championship game against the Buffalo Bills at Arrowhead Stadium.
It’s such a big game, and Worthy will need to be all over his details as the Chiefs look to make it to the Super Bowl for the third straight season, but he also has something else on his mind.
Going back to the NFL Draft, the Bills, who needed a receiver, traded their pick with the Chiefs, who moved up to No. 28 and then selected Worthy, giving the impression that Buffalo didn’t rate Xavier all that highly.
“I mean, I take it as a blessing,” Worthy said. “I feel like it’s a sign that they didn’t want me, so at the end of the day I’m going play with a chip on my shoulder, this game means a little bit more. Obviously, it’s the AFC Championship game, but this is the team that traded their pick away to get somebody else.”
The Bills took Keon Coleman over Worthy, and Xavier has had a better season statistically than Coleman.
Worthy finished his rookie year with 638 yards and six touchdowns from 59 receptions, compared to Coleman’s 556 yards and four touchdowns from 29 receptions.
He will get a chance to play a role here and maybe another wideout will as well as Saturday, the Chiefs elevated two players from their practice squad: wide receiver Justyn Ross and linebacker Swayze Bozeman.
Ross certainly creates depth at the pass-catching spot as last week Patrick Mahomes was super-reliant on tight end Travis Kelce in that department.
So there’s that move … and there is Worthy, who will no doubt want to put on a show against Buffalo and be one of the main reasons the season ends at Arrowhead for Sean McDermott and Co.
The Bills passed on Worthy, and in the AFC title game, he’s going to make sure they regret that decision.
