Former Scout Identifies Laziness in Texas Receiver Xavier Worthy

After evaluating seven games of Texas wide receiver (WR) Xavier Worthy, I can officially say that I’m not impressed.

Looks like I am not in the majority on this one.

Pro Football Network, Walter Football, 247 Sports, CBS, NBC Sports Chicago, Fansided, The Score, The 33rd Team, USA Today, The Sporting News, and Pro Football Focus all have stamped Worthy with a first-round projection (nflmockdraftdatabase.com).

Not me – – there was absolutely nothing that looked like a first-round receiver in these seven games. Out of 78 targets, I chicken scratched 34 catches (44% catch rate). Officially, over the past two seasons he had 62 receptions on 104 targets in 2021 (60% catch rate) and that dropped off to 60 receptions on 117 targets in 2022 (51% catch rate).

In a Sports Illustrated article, “According to Former NFL GM Rick Spielman, scouts can see ‘comparable’ traits of rising junior Xavier Worthy to that of Philadelphia Eagles receiver DeVonta Smith.”

With all due respect, I see a little of what is being said there, but they are not remotely the same player when taking a closer look. I wasn’t wild about Smith pre-draft (I gave him a late first-early second-round grade, he went 2021 No. 10 overall), but I do like him a lot better than what Worthy has put on film.

Sure, Worthy has raw quickness and some speed, but he doesn’t have Smith’s arm length, toughness, or natural flexibility at breakpoints. Worthy also has a lazy streak that makes me cringe. A lazy streak I never saw in Smith.

Laziness?

That’s a heck of an accusation, but the game film doesn’t lie. At First Round Mock we don’t just offer subjective opinions, we offer links to the actual game film to support our evaluations.

There were numerous times Worthy quit on routes. If you don’t believe me go watch the Oklahoma State, TCU, and Alabama games. One pass was almost intercepted, another one was, and he didn’t lay out for deep attempts.

I do not like Worthy on contested passes downfield at all. I also don’t care for “his ability to adjust.”

The “chemistry” between Worthy and the Texas quarterbacks was noticeably “off” intermediate-to-deep. Sure, some of that is on the quarterback, but some of it is also on Worthy (and all the times he didn’t either try or he took his foot off the gas is definitely on Worthy).

Thanks, but no thanks.

Average hands

A receiver’s job is to catch the ball, and I was less than impressed with Worthy’s hands.

He dropped some catchable passes and showed inconsistent concentration.

Smith plucked the ball with strong confident hands – – I’m not seeing that with Worthy.

Anything but a homerun hitter

Okay – – okay – – Worthy did catch one deep touchdown pass in these seven games.

Worthy looks like a short-to-intermediate-range slot who excels short with a decent ability to pick up a few yards after the catch. Making a defender miss in the open field is something else he can do.

He makes it look like he has a “second gear,” by methodically running slower before turning it on at route breakpoints. It’s not a true second gear.

Worthy isn’t running away from college-level defenders and he’s not blowing the doors off of secondaries deep.

In baseball terms, he looks mostly like a base-hitter, who hits an occasional double.

#8 Xavier Worthy 6-foot-1, 172 pounds (changed to Jersey No. 1 after these games were played)

Daniel Kelly’s Summer 2023 Grade: Third-Round (I wouldn’t select him)

Projected by 82.8% of the NFL Draft Community to be a first-round pick as of July 24, 2023 (nflmockdraftdatabase.com)

2022 game film reviewed: Oklahoma State, Kansas State, Kansas, TCU, Alabama, Iowa State, and Texas Tech (click to view games watched to form this evaluation)

2022 stats: 60 receptions, 760 yards (12.7 avg), 9 TD, long-46 yards

2024 NFL Draft Scouting Report

Thinner-looking slot receiver who is best in the short route level. Shows initial quickness to achieve route leverage. Best on shallow crossing routes, hard short inside-outs, and bubble screens when he can pick up a few extra yards. More quick than football fast. Often struggles to achieve much separation intermediate or deep. Average hands. Questionable effort route running. Poor on contested passes. Inconsistent adjusting when the ball is in the air. Very inconsistent intermediate and deep. Decent blocker on runs.

What to watch for during the 2023 college football season

1. Catch rate?

2. Contested catches?

3. Hands?

4. Giving up on routes?

Daniel Kelly is a former NFL Scout with the New York Jets. He was hired on the regime which featured Bill Parcells, Bill Belichick, Scott Pioli, Mike Tannenbaum, and Dick Haley. He is currently the Editor-in-Chief for First Round Mock, contributes at Yardbarker, and has written for Sports Illustrated Lions, Jets, and 49ers, as well as a featured guest on ESPN Radio and Fox Sports Radio. For more information about him visit his website at whateverittakesbook.com. He can be followed on Twitter @firstroundmock.