ST. JOSEPH, Mo. — Patrick Mahomes and Javier Worthy bonded at the Kansas City Chiefs’ first full-squad practice of training camp.
Mahomes Complete a deep pattern of passes to Worthy for a goal. During the team’s first 11-on-11 practice, the play sparked hope among Chiefs players that it was the first of many such contacts.
“He’s adjusting well,” wide receiver Mecole Hardman said of Worthy, a first-round pick in the 2024 draft. “He’s got that speed, so I’m pretty sure we’re going to use him on a lot of deep stuff. So, I think right now it’s just a matter of getting the chemistry between him and Pat and hopefully we can translate that into the season.”
Worthy missed most of the offseason with a hamstring injury, so he and Mahomes are, in a sense, getting to know each other. Mahomes was eager to get Worthy back to practice early in camp, saying last week that the Chiefs wouldn’t just return him to the starting lineup, but have high expectations of him.
Mahomes then threw several passes to Worthy at a recent mini-training camp for quarterbacks and rookies.
“He’s been working hard,” coach Andy Reid said of Worthy. “His hamstring looks like it’s gotten better. We just have to keep playing well here and keep learning. We’re just one player.” [practice] “They go in there and they have 12 of them, so he has a lot of information coming at him and formations and transitions and movements and all that stuff. But he did a good job today.”
Worthy ran 4.21 seconds in the 40-yard dash at the scout event, the fastest time ever recorded in the event. The Chiefs also signed another speedy receiver, veteran Marquise Brown.
“It’s a lot of speed, and I think we have a good group of players,” Hardman said. [and] They bring another dynamic to the attack, and you obviously have Rashi. [Rice]This is the bulldog, like the horse that can do all the dirty work, get on the under roads, and a lot of [run-after-catch] With him. Then I enter through small tools here and there and explosives too.
“We all benefit from each other. We have a great room; everyone knows what’s going on. Everyone knows their role. I think training camp now will really define everyone’s roles.”