Xavier Worthy and four more Kansas City Chiefs players who should have larger roles after the bye week

The Kansas City Chiefs coaching staff has gone through their typical plan for the bye week, including their continuous self-scout. Typically the work done during the bye week helps those in charge make some changes and improvements for the remainder of the 2024 NFL season. In the past, that evaluation has led to several players seeing larger […]

Charles Goldman — NFL Managing Editor
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Oct 7, 2024; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Xavier Worthy (1) celebrates after scoring a touchdown against the New Orleans Saints during the second half at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium.
Denny Medley-Imagn Images

The Kansas City Chiefs coaching staff has gone through their typical plan for the bye week, including their continuous self-scout. 

Typically the work done during the bye week helps those in charge make some changes and improvements for the remainder of the 2024 NFL season. In the past, that evaluation has led to several players seeing larger roles moving forward. It's mostly based on their production and internal grades from the coaching staff. 

Below is a look at five Chiefs players who should see more opportunities on offense and defense after the bye week. . . 

WR Xavier Worthy

With Hollywood Brown and Rashee Rice injured, Worthy is the team's most explosive playmaker at the receiver position. His role was always going to grow exponentially with each passing week. Yet, he saw the most action of any game in Week 5 against the New Orleans Saints, with 56 total offensive snaps, the most in a single game of his NFL career. He had 6 targets (most in a single game) and three catches for 25 yards, which isn't indicative of his true impact. He also had a three-yard touchdown run out of a unique read-option play with a direct snap to TE Travis Kelce. Even on the plays where he didn't catch his target, Worthy made a massive difference for Kansas City. He forced a defensive pass interference call from Saints CB Paulson Adebo that took the ball from the K.C. 39-yard line to the New Orleans 15-yard line. 

WR Mecole Hardman

Before Week 5, Hardman had played just 32 total offensive snaps and had no targets on the season. On just eight snaps in Week 5 against the New Orleans Saints, Hardman caught all four of his targets for 33 yards. As much as Hardman's role as a return specialist is important, his role as a trusted target of Patrick Mahomes might become more important down the stretch. The Chiefs have several practice squad receivers who can return punts and kicks, along with players like Skyy Moore on the 53-man roster. Getting Hardman more involved in a YAC and gadget-type role on offense could be part of the solution at the wide receiver position moving forward.

TE Jody Fortson

In his first game back on the 53-man roster in Week 5, Fortson played 11 offensive snaps and caught his lone target for five yards. That target came on second down and led to a fresh set of downs for the offense. With injuries to the WR and RB corps, the Chiefs must rely on the tight end room in ways they hadn't early on in the season. That means an increase in 12 personnel, 13 personnel, and 14 personnel (or T-Rex as Andy Reid calls it). We saw some of that against the Saints in Week 5, but Fortson needs to be a big part of that moving, especially as they continue to look for ways to improve in the red zone. The Chiefs currently rank 30th in red zone efficiency among all NFL teams. 

S Jaden Hicks

Hicks has played just 13 total defensive snaps so far this season, but he has graded out as one of the Chiefs' best defensive players according to Pro Football Focus. He currently ranks ninth among all Chiefs defenders in total defensive grade (65.6). That grade passes the eye test as he's looked sharp in his few opportunities. We know that Chiefs DB coach Dave Merritt and DC Steve Spagnuolo have spoken about getting Hicks more involved on the defensive side of the ball. They'll continue to carve out opportunities for him in certain sub-packages. Dave Toub is thankful to have him in a leadership role on special teams, but it's only a matter of time before something forces him into action on defense.

CB Nazeeh Johnson

Since midway through Week 2, the Chiefs have had Johnson as their third cornerback in certain nickel sub-packages opposite Trent McDuffie and Jaylen Watson. He's proven to be the team's best option along with Chamarri Conner in certain sub-packages, and it's all because of his coverage ability. With over 80 defensive snaps on the season, Johnson has allowed just 33.3% of passes completed into his coverage. Unfortunately, one of the two passes was a touchdown. However, that 33.3% is the lowest mark of any Chiefs cornerback who has been targeted multiple times this season. Johnson should continue to carve out a bigger role as the season progresses and see opportunities to play ahead of Joshua Williams. He could even start to carve into Watson's playing time if he keeps things up.

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