No player has generated more buzz during the Kansas City Chiefs preseason than Xavier Worthy. His record-breaking speed and impressive hands were beginning to raise the expectations of Chiefs Kingdom, but the hype train went off the rails after this video of Worthy getting thrown around by the Chiefs defense emerged from training camp.

Is Xavier Worthy too small for the NFL?

The concerns about the first-round draft pick are nothing new. Measured at 5-foot-11, 165 pounds, Worthy’s size was never his best attribute. Ambitious comparisons to former Chiefs fun-sized dynamo Tyreek Hill bought him some benefit of the doubt.

Kansas City’s defense, the unsung hero of its Super Bowl LVIII title, was quick to expose Worthy’s weakness in press coverage. In the video taken by a fan at St. Joe’s, one Chiefs defensive back bumped him off the line, before another finished the job and sent him flying into the turf.

Fans respond to brutal hit on Worthy

There was no ignoring how overmatched the rookie appeared in the video, but Chiefs fans were eager to downplay his apparent size issue.

“Worthy is almost never gonna see press. He’s gonna be in motion on almost every play,” said one response to the video on X, formerly Twitter.

Another pointed out that by occupying the attention (and force) of two defenders, he helped get Travis Kelce open on the play.

Time will tell whether Worthy’s size will remain an issue, or if he can overcome his issues to become the next Tyreek Hill or Devonta Smith. Given the history of Patrick Mahomes and Andy Reid, it’s a safe bet they’ll find the smartest way to use him, and avoid collisions like this in the future.