Xavier Worthy, the wide receiver for the Texas Longhorns, made waves at the NFL Combine, significantly boosting his standing in the upcoming NFL Draft. His standout performance, particularly his astonishingly fast 40-yard dash time, left scouts in awe.
During an appearance on SportsCenter, Worthy reflected on the reactions of NFL teams to his remarkable feat of running the 40-yard dash in just 4.21 seconds. "I feel like a lot of teams were shocked," Worthy remarked. "Some teams were trying to tell me that they had me running a 4.35 and ... [they were] like, 'What are you trying to run?' and I was like, '4.2' and they were all shocked. They were like, 'You know that's fast, right?' And I was like, 'Yeah.'"
Despite the surprise among NFL teams, Worthy had confidence in his abilities. "But I kind of expected it after the first one when I ran the 4.25," he explained. "During training I normally always ran my first runs slower. So when I ran the 4.25, I was kind of like, 'I have a feeling I could break this record.' Because during training I was always running 0.4 seconds faster on the second one."
Worthy's impressive performance in the 40-yard dash undoubtedly bolstered his draft stock. In fact, in a recent mock draft, he was projected to be selected as early as the end of the first round.
Throughout his tenure at Texas, Worthy established himself as one of the premier wide receivers in college football. His accolades include being named the Big 12 Freshman of the Year in 2021 and earning recognition as a Freshman All-American. Additionally, he secured two First-Team All-Big 12 selections. Over the course of three seasons, Worthy amassed 197 receptions for 2,755 yards and 26 touchdowns.
Following Worthy's remarkable display in the 40-yard dash, ESPN's NFL Draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr. provided insight into Worthy's draft prospects. "I'll say this about Xavier Worthy," Kiper began, "he had the hand injury, remember the broken hand two years ago and he had some drops. But he played through that, and he took some criticism, but he had the injury. Sark even said, 'Hey, don't forget he was hurt.' And he played through it, he never complained. And he goes out there this year and he improves in that area. He's a space guy, he can be the guy down the field making plays. You saw the speed, you saw the big play ability, you saw how dangerous he was after the catch, you saw how he can just leave guys in his wake."
Kiper continued, "Xavier Worthy was in the first-round mix before he ran 4.21. We thought he'd run in the 4.3s, he ran 4.21 which is amazing. He's still running. So, at the end of the day, Field, he's not Darrius Heyward-Bey who's gonna jump into the top-10, maybe he could. ... I think he deserves to be in that discussion I'd say 15-25 range. I thought 25-32, maybe it'll bump him into the mid to late first-round instead of a late one, early to mid-two."
