KANSAS CITY, Missouri – As this year’s NFL Draft approached, general manager Brett Veach met with quarterback Patrick Mahomes to discuss some of the players the Kansas City Chiefs were considering for their first-round selection.

Veach and the Chiefs didn’t plan to leave the decision up to Mahomes, but they were certainly interested in his opinion. Mahomes had previously watched so much video of wide receivers that Veach called him a “tape-a-holic.”

The two-time NFL MVP had watched footage of Georgia’s Ladd McConkey and Florida State’s Keon Coleman, but he had another favorite: the slender man from the University of Texas who recently ran the 40-yard dash in 4.21 seconds, a record for the Scouting Combine.

Mahomes liked the speed of that receiver, Xavier Worthy, and sent Veach a fire emoji after learning of Worthy’s 40 at the Combine.

But he saw a complete player who could do more than just run fast.

“Just running routes (and) a guy that plays physical as well,” Mahomes said of what he liked about Worthy. “Even though he doesn’t weigh a ton, he plays hard, he plays through stuff. He goes out there and fights, and then the speed that obviously opens up the field, but he’s not just a fast receiver.”

“He plays hard, plays fast and those are the kind of guys you want on your football team.”

The Chiefs got the receiver he wanted in Mahomes. They traded up a few spots late in the first round rather than hoping he would fly their way with the 32nd pick. They saw immediate results in their season-opening 27-20 win over the Baltimore Ravens on Thursday night, with Worthy scoring two touchdowns, including a crucial 35-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter.

“Pat doesn’t just come in and say, ‘Let’s draft a wideout,'” Veach said. “Well, there are a lot of wideouts. But Pat has a vision, like a coach has a vision. He pulls plays out of a game like he’s seen it all. He’s done the work. It’s not just TV scouting, it’s real film work.”

“Of the guys we talked about, he liked Worthy the most. He doesn’t judge guys. He just tells you what he thinks. But you could see he was most excited about Worthy.”

THE REVIEWS ON It’s still very early days for Worthy, but Mahomes, Veach and the Chiefs have reason to be confident about their first-round draft pick and the impact he could have. Worthy touched the ball three times in Thursday night’s game, but two of those resulted in touchdowns, both of 20+ yards.

Still, Mahomes said Worthy’s true impact came from the respect the Ravens had to show for his speed, which gave leeway to other receivers, including Rashee Rice, who led the Chiefs with seven catches for 103 yards.

“Having him out there just opens up opportunities,” Mahomes said. “When he’s out there, they play shell coverage. That gives guys like (Travis Kelce) and guys like Rashee space underneath, and that’s the great thing about this offense: We’re able to do all of that, and that’s when we’re at our best.”

The Chiefs would have drafted Worthy even without Mahomes’ approval. They desperately needed reinforcements at the wide receiver position, as last season’s group, aside from rookie Rice, struggled to make big plays and sometimes even catch the ball. Their wide receivers led the league in dropped passes (44).

They signed a speedy wide receiver, Marquise Brown, but it wasn’t enough. They felt they needed a second player to Mahomes to build the strong deep attack they lacked for much of last season.

“It’s a quarterback league and it’s a fast-paced game,” Veach said. “The faster you are on the field, the harder it is for defenses to shut down different elements of the game. Anytime you can add speed and get a player with that kind of versatility on the team, you get interesting. We have a couple of players now that I think can keep defenses guessing. We’re on a good path here.

“When you can add that kind of offensive power — I mean, 4.21, that’s pretty good speed. … When you look at those guys and some of their success in the NFL, you always look at how they made the transition to college, and Xavier was a guy who put up big numbers as a freshman.”

The Chiefs, however, were concerned about Worthy’s slight frame. They list him as 6’1″ and 165 pounds. The Chiefs’ next lightest wideout is Brown, who is listed at 180 pounds.

Those concerns were allayed by his injury history at Texas, which was nothing serious. He proved to be resilient and did not miss a single game in three college seasons.

“He’s not a big kid, at least not weight-wise,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said. “He’s got good size. He’s just not very heavy, but I think you see his toughness, which I noticed. When you talk to a coach — (Texas) coach (Steve) Sarkisian and I are close friends — he always talks about how smart he is. He’s got great football instincts and he’s a great worker. And in this offense, you have to be able to do that and have those traits.”

Worthy, for his part, wanted to play for a team that would use him for more than just long routes. Playing alongside a quarterback with Mahomes’ skills was a bonus, as was playing for Reid, who coached Worthy’s favorite childhood player, wideout DeSean Jackson, when he was with the Philadelphia Eagles.

Although many wanted to compare Worthy to Tyreek Hill on draft night because of their speed, Reid compared Worthy to Jackson.

“It’s reassuring to see a coach who drafted a player like me and who is so successful in this system under Andy Reid,” Worthy said. “It’s just incredible to have a coach who really understands you as a player and knows you because he’s had that player before.”

“I feel like I can do anything and I’m effective at everything, mobile screens and reverses. Anywhere the ball touches my hands, I feel like I can do something.”

Establishment of Worthy as An NFL receiver got off to a slow start, missing most of the offseason workouts because of a hamstring injury.

Mahomes made up for it in training camp. During an early rookie practice, he threw almost all of his passes to Worthy. He called the first play of the preseason for him, but due to the pressure, Mahomes couldn’t get the ball to him.

On the next play, Worthy caught a 39-yard pass from Mahomes and a 22-yard touchdown pass from Carson Wentz.

The Chiefs then left him out of the final preseason game, along with Mahomes and their other starters, not only to protect him from injury, but because they felt he was ready for the regular season.

“He’s been able to pick things up quickly,” Mahomes said. “He learns from his mistakes. We really lay the playbook out there for him and he learns, and then he doesn’t get tired so he can do all the reps. He runs those deep routes, gets back in and even when he doesn’t necessarily want to, we make him go out and do it again.”

Mahomes was unable to closely follow the first round of the draft because he was attending the Time 100 Gala in New York that evening. Before it began, he texted Veach, wishing him luck and telling him he would keep his phone on.

Veach broke the news to Mahomes via text message when it was their turn to vote and before the pick was official. By the time Worthy’s pick was publicly announced, Mahomes had already responded.

“He showed him the thumbs up emoji and was pretty excited about it,” Veach said.

This excitement seems justified after Worthy’s success on his debut.

“He goes out there and makes plays,” Mahomes said. “Obviously we want to continue to use him more and more, but I thought he had a great day (against the Ravens), making big plays and big moments.”