Kansas City Chiefs WR Xavier Worthy disrespected with inexplicable snub from PFF's annual 25 under 25 rankings

Tuesday Takes: Should the ‘tush push’ be banned?

The Kansas City Chiefs had just one player appear on PFF’s annual 25 under 25 list for the 2025 NFL season. Trent McDuffie, coming off perhaps the best season of his young career, was the lone Chiefs player to receive recognition.

A few Chiefs omissions, like McDuffie’s 2022 NFL draft buddy, George Karlaftis, stood out. The only qualifier PFF mentions is that players must be under 25 by Week 1 of the 2025 NFL season, which is the case for Karlaftis.

His 24.5 regular-season sacks since 2022 rank second among players selected in that draft, behind only the No. 2 overall pick, Aidan Hutchinson. If you include postseason sacks, no edge rusher from that class has more than Karlaftis in that span.

Karlaftis is not a household name, and sacks aren’t the be-all and end-all, but he has a strong case. The crazy thing is that’s not even the most egregious omission.

Chiefs WR Xavier Worthy inexplicably snubbed from PFF’s 25 under 25 rankings

WR Xavier Worthy, last year’s No. 28 overall pick, is a downright disrespectful omission from this list. He’ll be 22 years old to start the 2025 NFL season, but what he accomplished as a rookie easily makes him one of the most exciting young players in the NFL. At just 21 years old, Worthy was thrust into a featured role as a rookie, with both Hollywood Brown and Rashee Rice suffering early-season injuries. Beyond being the verified fastest player in the NFL, this kid has a lot going for him, even in the disappointing finish to the 2024 campaign.

Just a few months ago, Worthy left us with an unmatched performance in Super Bowl LIX, setting an NFL record for most receiving yards by a rookie in Super Bowl history with 157 yards (and two touchdowns). That’s 52 more yards than the previous record of 109, which Chris Matthews and Tory Holt both reached. I know the game was forgettable in basically every other way for Kansas City, but that performance should still be fresh in our minds.

During the 2024 regular season, Worthy recorded 79 touches for 742 yards and nine touchdowns. If you include his postseason production, Worthy tied Tyreek Hill for the most total touchdowns by any Chiefs rookie in franchise history with 12. He even earned the Mack Lee Hill Rookie of the Year award in Kansas City after his performance in 2024

As good as Worthy was as a rookie, there was clear room for improvement in the deep passing game. Worthy and Patrick Mahomes left a lot of opportunities on the field because of their inability to connect on these throws. Mahomes targeted Worthy on throws of 20+ yards 16 times last season and only completed three such passes.

Patrick Mahomes' target distribution on throws of 20+ air yards without pressure in 2024. pic.twitter.com/mtX4EnSVMa

— Jacob Gibbs (@jagibbs_23) May 19, 2025

That could be a reason for skepticism, but it could also just as easily be a reason for optimism. This team has been looking for a spark to reignite the deep passing game, and it’s only a matter of time before Mahomes and Worthy figure that out. Think of it as a regression toward the mean. Worthy is bound to improve in this regard, which alone should help him improve in his second season as a professional. Even if you’re a skeptic, there’s little doubt that Worthy is one of the top young players in the league.