Gross Bombs: NFL Props for Week 16
Josh Gross
Last Updated: 1/25/2024
Xavier Worthy started his college career in 2021 with a bang — his 12 receiving touchdowns led the Big-12, while his 981 receiving yards were third. Worthy saw a dip in 2022 statistically, arguably more due to the quarterback carousel than him. He did bounce back for his first 1,000-yard season as a junior in 2023, but he failed to reach double-digit touchdowns again. It is still an impressive stat line for Worthy in his three-year career — 2,755 receiving yards and 26 touchdowns.
Worthy is an undersized receiver, standing 6-foot-1 and weighing in at a mere 163 pounds, so there are justifiable concerns about his durability. On the flip side, he managed to appear in every game for the Longhorns. When it comes to his on-field play the first thing you notice is his speed, he has tremendous acceleration and an ability to manipulate his speed. This speed element is evident before he has the ball and with the ball in his hands. It’s not often that you see him tackled at the catch point, he creates significant yards after the catch using this speed and quickness. In addition, he has a suddenness to his game with the ball in his hands, surprisingly this doesn’t necessarily transfer over to his routes. He is a good route runner but leans more on weaponizing leverage and fluidity regularly. On the other hand, he does show some twitch and sudden movement off the line of scrimmage helping give him an advantage early in routes.
At the catch point, Worthy displays soft but strong hands while catching away from his body more times than not. If it is required, he has shown an ability to catch outside his frame and even alter his hand placement to make tougher catches. He also does a good job tracking the ball in the air and making the required adjustments to haul it in. Pairing this with his speed makes him more than a gadget-type player, he can test a defense deep when called upon. Due to the lack of size, he is not the best in contested situations, but he does high point the ball well and often attacks the ball as opposed to letting it come to him. Even as an undersized player, he displays toughness and ferocity in all areas of his game.
- Speed
- Fluid route runner
- Yards-after-catch creator
- Lacks prototypical size
- Twitch in routes
- Physicality
- First Team All-Big 12 (2023)
- Second Team All-Big 12 (2022)
- First Team All-Big 12 (2021)
- Big-12 Offensive Freshman of the Year (2021)
- AP Big-12 Newcomer of the Year (2021)
- 40-yard dash: 4.21s
- 10-yard split: 1.49s
- Vertical: 41″
- Broad Jump: 10’11”
- Three-cone: TBD
- Shuttle: TBD
- Bench: TBD
- Z receiver
We have to be careful about Xavier Worthy’s future fantasy value due to his lack of size. We have seen DeVonta Smith and Jordan Addison emerge as undersized guys, but more often than not these players struggle. To find the most success, I believe Worthy will need to be paired with an alpha receiver and play second fiddle. This will lead to quality production. but I doubt we see many WR1 seasons from him. We are likely drafting a WR2-3 type player who will give us some boom weeks here or there.
