Devy Digest: Xavier Worthy

Andy Pham

Stats:

Who is Xavier Worthy?

Worthy was a high 4* in the composites out of Central East High in Fresno California. Worthy was a dual sport athlete who competed in Track and Field, Worthy has a verified 10.55 100 meter dash. Worthy’s last season on the Football field came as a Junior, where he amassed 55 catches for nearly 1,000 yards and 16 touchdowns. His Senior season was cancelled due to COVID19, if any position is less affected by taking a year off, it is the Wide Receiver position. Worthy held offers from Alabama, LSU, Georgia, Oregon, USC, Michigan, Washington, Texas and countless others. He chose to attend Texas where he made an immediate impact as a True Freshman where he started all 12 games and shattered Freshman records with the University in receptions(62), yards(981) and touchdowns(12). Lofty expectations were put on Worthy coming into his Sophomore season, and while statistically they were within range of his Freshman season, he didn’t take that next step that many hoped for and he dropped more passes and didn’t looks like the same player we saw as a True Freshman, after the season, it was reported that Worthy had essentially a broken hand and tried to play through it. Worthy appears to be NFL bound after the season and holds some unique traits that the 2024 class does not possess.

Advance Metrics courtesy of Campus 2 Canton

Rest of Season Outlook

Worthy has shown enough this season to answer any questions about his down Sophomore year. Worthy has shown up in the biggest games throughout his career at Texas and is one of the elite receivers in the 2024 class. Worthy has proved himself to be the Alpha in the room all three seasons at Texas, including this year when they brought in Adonai Mitchell and the emergence of Tight End JT Sanders. Worthy’s game hasn’t diminished with the two being there but the inverse. We’ll see games where JT Sanders disappears or Mitchell disappears, but Worthy is a factor week in and week out.

Strengths

Worthy's best attribute is his speed and field stretching abilities. Worthy is a smooth runner that is fluid in and out of his breaks with little to no wasted movement. Worthy possesses great agility and fluid hips to turn defenders the wrong way. Worthy can take the top off any defense. Worthy is also a key contributor in the return game and should bring that to the next level. True elite speed is hard to come by and Worthy possesses that in a 2024 draft eligible class where that is lacking. He is the best field stretching, speed burner in this class and teams looking for that will have to take him early or move up in the draft to secure that profile.

Improvements/Concern

There are concerns with his hands and how he brings the ball in. He has suffered from drops throughout his career and it seems more of a technique/focus issue as you wouldn’t have someone that can’t track the ball as a returner. Drops can be fixed at the next level, but that is a concern to his game. Another concern, albeit a lesser one is his frame, with today’s NFL slightly framed receivers are finding success more and more often and not a hindrance as it once was a decade ago. Worthy has a frame to add on at most an additional 10 lbs without compromising his traits, he’ll always be that slight build receiver. Those are the two most alarming concerns to his game. Worthy, is a body in the run blocking game, he won’t be an adequate blocker, but is someone that will get in the way of his defender.

Devy Value

Worthy is a buy, the influx of the 2024 receiving class is deep, but there is enough uncertainty where if you have faith that Worthy as the Wide Receiver 3 of the class, you can buy him for cheaper than what a Wide Receiver 3 of a particular draft class would cost. He holds the unique trait of being the best field stretching wide receiver of the class and more refined than most speed burners that come into the draft each year.

NFL Outlook

Worthy should absolutely blaze the 40 yard dash and all the agility drills that come with the combine as Worthy is a very fluid route runner. In the range of outcomes, end of first round is well within his range of outcomes. I can see a playoff contender falling in love with his trait to stretch the field and help the receiving core with speed and immediately contribute in the return game. His floor is day 2 draft capital. Worthy is a blend of Hollywood Brown and Christian Watson but with more refinement than both.