Chiefs fans set themselves up for disappointment with Xavier Worthy, Rashee Rice expectations

The 2023 campaign ended with the Kansas City Chiefs hoisting a Lombardi Trophy in Las Vegas. It was their third championship in five seasons, officially establishing the franchise as the NFL's latest dynasty.

Yet, Super Bowl LVIII was not like the others. Kansas City no longer possessed a high-flying offense capable of running up the scoreboard. The only touchdown the Chiefs scored against the San Francisco 49ers came after a special teams blunder gifted Kansas City the ball at the 16-yard line.

The Super Bowl was a perfect representation of Kansas City’s season. The Chiefs leaned on their defense, waited for the opponent to make a mistake, and then allowed quarterback Patrick Mahomes to clinch the game at the end. That was the recipe Kansas City was forced to follow with an offensive unit that was plagued by mental lapses, turnstile offensive tackles, and dropped passes.

After the abysmal offensive season, Kansas City general manager Brett Veach was determined to bolster the wide receiver corps this offseason. The Chiefs signed veteran wide receiver Marquise "Hollywood" Brown in free agency and selected Texas wide receiver Xavier Worthy with the No. 28 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.

Chiefs fans may be a bit too optimistic about Rashee Rice and Xavier Worthy

With excitement for a resurgent offense in Kansas City, the Chiefs social media team posed a question to its fanbase: How many touchdowns will Xavier Worthy and Rashee Rice combine for in 2024? John Dillon of ChiefsWire collected responses that ranged mostly from 14 to 20 touchdowns.

While the Chiefs offense is set to be significantly better than it was in 2023, those are lofty numbers. For context, the Detroit Lions duo of Amon-Ra St. Brown and Sam LaPorta combined for 20 touchdowns, while the Philadelphia Eagles tandem of A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith combined for 14 touchdowns. In 2021, wide receiver Tyreek Hill and tight end Travis Kelce combined for 18 touchdowns.

Rice and Worthy aren't quite at the level of any of those duos just yet.

While Rice scored seven touchdowns last year, he'll have more competition in a retooled wide receiver room that features Brown, Worthy, Mecole Hardman, and Kadarius Toney. He also could face a potential suspension unless the league waits to dole out punishment next season after the legal process plays out.

Meanwhile, Worthy has shown some signs of concerns early on. After struggling with drops at Texas, the wide receiver continued to drop passes in his first offseason with Kansas City. That was accompanied by a hamstring injury that has limited his practice time heading into training camp.

Since 2018, Mahomes is averaging 36.5 touchdowns per season and tight end Travis Kelce is averaging 8.7 touchdowns per season. Assuming both stars have a bounce-back season and meet their averages, that leaves just 28 touchdown passes to go around. At best, Rice will be the second receiving option behind Kelce, while Worthy will be the fourth option behind Kelce, Rice, and Brown.

Things would have to go awfully well for Kansas City if the rookie reels in 10 touchdowns as the third or fourth option. If he's leading the team in touchdowns, that would likely be an alarming sign for Kelce and Brown.