Like clockwork, the Kansas City Chiefs are here, all set for their seventh consecutive appearance in the AFC Championship game. They’ll take on the Buffalo Bills at 6:30 p.m. ET, looking to become the first team in NFL history to win three consecutive Super Bowl titles.
Throughout its dynasty, Kansas City has never had a great wide receiver corps, but this year’s iteration is probably the best. The most promising of the bunch is 29th overall pick Xavier Worthy, a former Texas star who hauled in 59 passes for 638 yards and six touchdowns during the regular season. He then caught five of his six targets for 45 yards during the Divisional Round, the only Chiefs wideout to record a catch in that game.
At DraftKings Sportsbook, Kansas City is a 2.5-point favorite, and the point total is set at 48.5. Below, I’ve identified my favorite prop bets centered around Worthy.
Best Xavier Worthy Prop Bets on DraftKings Sportsbook
Xavier Worthy U49.5 Receiving Yards (-109)
The playoffs are Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce time, and everyone else is secondary. In last week’s win over the Houston Texans, Kelce caught seven passes for 117 yards and a touchdown, moving closer to Jerry Rice’s records for postseason receiving yards and touchdowns. With so much attention on Kelce, there’s not much room for anyone else in the Chiefs’ offense once the playoffs roll around, especially not for Worthy, who only reached the 50-yard plateau five times in his rookie season.
Kansas City’s receiving corps is only getting healthier, as the team reported a completely clean bill of health prior to the AFC Championship Game. Hollywood Brown returned from a serious shoulder injury in Week 16 and demonstrated some flashes in limited playing time. Plus, veteran DeAndre Hopkins, a likely future Hall of Famer, can never be written off entirely. Although Worthy is still clearly Mahomes’ favorite crunch-time target among wideouts — ranking second on the team behind Kelce in red zone target share — the position just isn’t that important in the Chiefs’ scheme.
Buffalo has been pretty mediocre against opposing wide receivers, allowing the 16th-most yards and 19th-most touchdowns to the position, and its chances will lean heavily on the health of cornerback Christian Benford, who has been in concussion protocol all week. Benford recorded 64 tackles this season and allowed just an 86.6 passer rating on 58 targets. Beyond Benford, the Bills’ secondary depth is shallow, especially with Taylor Rapp out with an injury.
Xavier Worthy O3.5 Rushing Yards (-120)
Kansas City likes to employ jet sweeps, and in the first week of the regular season, Worthy scored his first career touchdown on the play. With his combine-record 4.21-second 40-yard dash, Worthy’s blazing speed poses a huge challenge for any defense, and he garnered at least one carry in 13 out of his 17 games this season, including a one-carry, negative-eight-yard performance in the Divisional Round. Neither of Buffalo’s outside cornerbacks, Benford or Rasul Douglas, grades out particularly well as a run defender, and Rapp’s absence will be a major blow, given that he’s Pro Football Focus’ seventh-best run defending safety.
