Xavier Worthy, Isaiah are top Fantasy Football picks after Ravens vs Chiefs | News, Scores, Highlights, Stats & Rumors

KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI - SEPTEMBER 05: Xavier Worthy #1 of the Kansas City Chiefs reacts after making a first down reception against the Baltimore Ravens during the second quarter at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium on September 05, 2024 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

Christian Petersen/Getty Images

Xavier Worthy has arrived.

The Kansas City Chiefs’ new wide receiver scored two touchdowns 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.

In total, he threw two touchdowns on just three touches, totaling 68 rushing yards.

The fact that he was even selected by the Chiefs seems extremely surprising, considering that Kansas City has ended the Buffalo Bills’ season three times in the last four years in the playoffs. Buffalo’s decision to trade the 28th pick of the first round, along with a fourth-round pick, to the Chiefs for the 32nd pick of the first round and a third-round pick is a bit intriguing.

The Chiefs of course used that pick to take Worthy, and it didn’t take long for fans to turn his early success into an opportunity to grill the Bills:

Marcel Louis-Jacques @Marcel_LJ

The rest of the NFL has its eyes on the Bills after Xavier Worthy scores his first career touchdown pic.twitter.com/Az0iKPE8x8

Micah Adams @MadameStatGuy

In retrospect, maybe the Bills shouldn’t have agreed to a trade with the Chiefs that would allow them to take the fastest player in NFL draft history.

Worthy could be a bit of a feast or famine for fantasy players, though. Travis Kelce, Rashee Rice, and Marquise Brown (once he returns from injury) are much more likely to be regular targets. Worthy’s ability to turn the targets he gets into big plays will keep him in the flex conversation all season long, though.

Speaking of Rice, he was Mahomes’ primary target that night (seven receptions for 103 yards) and certainly looked like a potential WR2 in PPR leagues going forward. Assuming he remains eligible to play the full season, he could be poised for a breakout year.

The other big star of the night was Baltimore tight end Isaiah Likely, who may have just surpassed Mark Andrews as the Ravens’ top receiving tight end. Likely had seven receptions for 111 yards and a touchdown (and came within inches of making the game-tying catch on the final play of the game), compared to just two receptions for 14 yards for Andrews.

The risk in playing either player on any given week is the possibility that the other will be Lamar Jackson’s primary option in this game. Andrews has long been one of Jackson’s most reliable targets – he’s going to have a significant role in this offense. But Likely is a playmaker and he’s going to siphon off targets.

It’s quite possible that the back-and-forth between the two could limit each of them to low-end TE1 status, or even an outright TE2 designation. At a minimum, though, Likely should be factored into your lineup every week — he was awesome on Thursday.