Stop me if you’ve heard this before: This Kansas City Chiefs are headed to the Super Bowl. After defeating the Buffalo Bills 32-29 on Sunday evening, the Chiefs now have the chance to become the first team in NFL history to three-peat.
Along the way, there were a great many heroes for the Chiefs. There was Patrick Mahomes, of course. And Kareem Hunt. And Steve Spagnuolo and his defense. But there was also rookie wide receiver Xavier Worthy.
Worthy ended the game with a team-high six receptions for 85 yards and a touchdown, as well as two runs for 16 yards. He also came down with arguably the highlight grab of the game with a catch that set up one of Mahomes’ two touchdown runs.
Of course, Worthy would never even have been on the Chiefs if it weren’t for the Bills. Buffalo owned the No. 28 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, but rather than make a selection when on the clock, the Bills opted for a trade. Specifically, they swapped Nos. 28, 133 and 248 to the Chiefs in exchange for Nos. 32, 95 and 221. The Chiefs, as we know, used that No. 28 pick on Worthy, the fastest player in the history of the NFL Scouting Combine.
At the time, the Bills explained that they were simply doing what was best for the team. “I could see them taking a receiver but you don’t truly know,” general manager Brandon Beane said, according to NewYorkUpstate.com. “But where they were moving from, I don’t think it mattered to us who they were picking. Now we’ve got the two 2s, a 3, a 4 and four 5s. I think that gives us a chance to fill some roles or use ammo to move around again, depending on how the board falls.”
Nine months later, we know that the player taken with that pick just helped the Chiefs beat the Bills. Again. And he had something to say about it, too.
“Their loss.”
Indeed, it is. And maybe not just in this game, given the way Worthy has developed over the course of this season.
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Author: Jared Dubin
January 27, 2025 | 1:20 am
