If Patrick Mahomes loved the Chiefs' first-round pick, C.J. Stroud hated it.
The Texans quarterback watched as the two-time defending Super Bowl champion Chiefs added another offensive playmaker in Texas wide receiver Xavier Worthy. The move will give Mahomes the fastest player in NFL Combine history after Worthy broke the NFL record with a 4.21 40-yard dash time. Worthy will be paired with Marquise Brown and Rashee Rice alongside tight end Travis Kelce.
"They know what they're doing in Kansas City. They're winning. That's impressive, man," Stroud said on Bleacher Reports' draft show Thursday night. "That's a good pick, man. The AFC just got harder."
Thanks a lot Bills. Y’all letting the Chiefs get X Worthy got my QB feeling some kind of way 😭
— Houston Stressans (@TexansCommenter) April 26, 2024
“AFC just got a lot harder” pic.twitter.com/eJCGOzyyUX
Worthy doesn't directly affect Stroud's game, but his presence on the Chiefs' offense will make the AFC race a lot tighter. The Texans will also face the Chiefs this season after both sides won their respective divisions.
Even more, Houston's cornerback group remains a bit weak heading into Day 2 of the draft. Derek Stingley Jr. is a great lockdown cornerback, but the rest of the unit is full of underperformers like C.J. Henderson and Jeff Okudah — two former 2020 first-round picks who bounced around multiple teams before signing with Houston this offseason.
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Texans looking to compete in AFC in 2024
Houston made a lot of moves this offseason to jumpstart the team's contention window. The Texans spent the sixth-most money in free agency on players like Danielle Hunter, Denico Autry, Azeez Al-Shaair and re-signed Dalton Schultz to a large deal. General manager Nick Caserio then traded for and extended running back Joe Mixon before trading for wide receiver Stefon Diggs.
This is all well and good, but the Chiefs remain the cream of the crop in the conference until another team knocks them off. The Bills and Bengals are still solid as well, despite Buffalo losing several key players — including Diggs — and the Jets are hoping Aaron Rodgers stays healthy for a playoff run in 2024.
Worthy isn't a backbreaker, but he'll be another player Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans has to account for on defense when the Texans face the Chiefs. Every other team Kansas City faces will have to gameplan for him as well, which makes the race for the No. 1 see even more difficult for the rest of the AFC.
