One of the greatest stories Kansas City ChiefsThe 2023-24 season has been one for wide receiver Rashee Rice to flourish over the course of the year. Between Week 1 and the end of the campaign, the second-round pick grew within the offense and became a top-two target in the passing game.

With Rice out for the remainder of his sophomore year, could this year’s rookie do something similar? No. 28 overall pick Xavier Worthy is off to a mixed start with Kansas City, posting respectable numbers but failing to make the overall impact many had hoped for when he was drafted in April.

Given the expectations for Worthy, what does the team think of his future prospects? Pass game coordinator Joe Bleymaier believes the freshman is making progress and could find himself in a similar developmental arc to Rice a year ago.

“I think that’s right, that’s a good observation,” Bleymaier said. “Regardless, I think, of what some stats say, last year with Rashee in particular, every week he was growing and getting more and more comfortable in what we were doing and how he was the better for him to be able to achieve 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 becomes more and more. Comfortable in these routes or maneuvers against defenses He may not have been as comfortable earlier in the season. It doesn’t always show up on the stat sheet, but as the season goes on. that comfort level starts to show when he wins routes and catches passes.

If Worthy were able to replicate this production, it would be a truly impressive feat. Few saw it coming for Rice through his first seven games. In Weeks 1-7 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 scores. He also has a higher goal share (24) in games five, six and seven than Rice (15). To top it off, he also got more snaps (296) than Rice (198) when comparing starts.

The rest was history for Rice, who finished with over 900 yards and seven touchdowns. Worthy, on the other hand, is given more opportunities but fails to convert against man coverage or when thrown a bone by quarterback Patrick Mahomes. Mahomes doesn’t have the same chemistry with Worthy yet. Bleymaier still believes that even when the numbers don’t show it, Worthy wins in new ways.

“I wish we could go on the clicker and show you all of them,” Bleymaier said. “We would be here all day. There are instances where he is really smart when he sets up a guy and uses his speed to not only run in front of someone and score a deep touchdown, but also to s ‘stopping and changing direction And then to maneuver the way defenses play him underneath where before he could have run into traffic or run into traffic one way He maneuvers, he recognizes that kind. of things, he gets clean clearances.

Last month, head coach Andy Reid praised Worthy for being a “learner quickly.“From an effort standpoint or on the plus side, 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’ duties within the team. The offensive characteristics – understanding coverage, improving hand fighting, becoming more physical and learning from mistakes – can evolve in the same way.

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

“This all sounds a lot like what you said,” Bleymaier said. “Especially week (9), I think we need to start continuing to develop 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 different looks That’s kind of what we did with Rashee all last year: continue to give him what he was great at, then challenge him and push the limits so defenses can’t settle for one or two. two things.

Learn more: Why the Chiefs ‘aren’t going to skip a beat’ with Joshua Williams at cornerback