Xavier Worthy, Isaiah likely fantasy football prospects after Ravens vs. Chiefs | News, scores, highlights, stats and rumors
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Xavier Worthy has arrived.
The Kansas City Chiefs rookie wideout scored two touchdowns in just over three quarters in his NFL regular-season debut Thursday night against the Baltimore Ravens, scoring a rushing touchdown in the first quarter and a long receiving touchdown early in the fourth quarter.
Back then, he had two touchdowns with just three touches.
That he was with the Chiefs at all seems quite surprising in retrospect, considering Kansas City has finished the Buffalo Bills’ season in the playoffs in three of the last four years. So Buffalo’s decision to trade the Chiefs’ 28th first-round pick and a fourth-round pick for the 32nd first-round pick and a third-round pick is a bit puzzling.
The Chiefs, of course, used the pick to get Worthy, and it didn’t take long for fans to turn his early success into an opportunity to slam the Bills:
Marcel Louis-Jacques @Marcel_LJ
the rest of the NFL is staring at the Bills after Xavier Worthy scored with his first contact of his career pic.twitter.com/Az0iKPE8x8
Worthy could be a bit of a hit or miss for fantasy players, though. Travis Kelce, Rashee Rice, and Marquise Brown (once he returns from injury) are far more likely to get targets on a regular basis. However, Worthy’s ability to turn the targets he receives into big plays will keep him in the conversation for flex players all season long.
Speaking of Rice, he was Mahomes’ top target that night and definitely looked like a potential WR2 in future PPR leagues. Assuming he remains eligible for the entire season, he could be poised for a breakout year.
The other big fantasy star of the night was Baltimore tight end Isaiah Likely, who may have overtaken Mark Andrews as the Ravens’ best pass receiving option. At the time of publication, Likely had six pass catches for 91 yards and a touchdown, while Andrews recorded just a single catch for 11 yards.
The risk of starting either player in a given week is that the other may be Lamar Jackson’s first choice in that matchup. Andrews has long been one of Jackson’s most reliable targets – he’ll play a significant role in this offense. But Likely is a playmaker and he’ll get targets.
It’s entirely possible that the back-and-forth between the two will limit both to lower-end TE1 status, if not TE2 designation, but at the very least, Likely needs to be included in your lineup each week — he was great on Thursday.
