What are your thoughts about the Chiefs going into this week?
The Chiefs are a championship contender, no question about it. You look at what they've done over the past few seasons, and they’ve consistently been at the top of the league. Obviously, Patrick Mahomes is a special player. He's one of those guys that can take over a game at any moment, and you have to be prepared for that. You can never fully stop him; you just have to try and contain him and limit the damage. That said, we see some opportunities on the other side of the ball. Their defense has struggled a bit, particularly in the passing game—they’re last in the league in pass yards allowed, and we’re going to try to exploit that with what we believe is a strong passing attack. We feel good about what we can do through the air, and we’re confident that we’ll be able to move the ball. But it’s not going to be easy. The Chiefs are the Chiefs for a reason, and we’ve got to be ready for a full 60-minute battle.
Can you talk about what it’s like to prepare to go against a player like Patrick Mahomes?
Preparing for a guy like Patrick Mahomes is no small task. He’s one of those rare quarterbacks who can make something happen even when the play breaks down, and that’s what makes him so dangerous. You can have everything covered perfectly, and then he’ll scramble out of the pocket and hit a receiver 40 yards downfield, just like that. You have to be disciplined in every aspect of your defense when you’re going against him. That means maintaining your rush lanes to prevent him from extending plays and staying tight in coverage because Mahomes is the kind of guy who can throw across his body or make an impossible-looking throw seem routine.
Mentally, you’ve got to be sharp. You can’t get discouraged if he makes a big play because you know it’s going to happen at some point. It’s about staying focused and trying to force him into difficult situations. We’re definitely spending extra time on film study this week, looking for any tendencies or weaknesses we can exploit, but with a player like him, you just have to be ready for the unexpected. It’s not just his talent—it’s his ability to read the defense and make adjustments on the fly. It’s a huge challenge, but it’s also a great opportunity to test ourselves as a defense.
Did you scout Xavier Worthy before the draft? If so, what stood out about him?
Ah, Xavier Worthy. Well, first off, I don’t think anyone could have scouted the draft this year without noticing a guy named Xavier, right? I mean, Xavier Legette, Xavier Worthy—it felt like every wide receiver prospect was named Xavier. I’m surprised we didn’t end up drafting a whole team of them. But yes, we did have our eye on Xavier Worthy. He’s incredibly fast, no doubt about it. That speed is something that jumps off the tape immediately. We were in the market for a wide receiver, so naturally, we took a look at him. But who’s to say how the draft would have played out, right?
At the end of the day, we picked our Xavier—Xavier Legette—and we’re more than happy with that choice. I mean, the numbers speak for themselves, right? It’s funny, though, because every time someone mentions ‘Xavier,’ we have to clarify which one we’re talking about. Sometimes I think the only reason we didn’t draft Worthy is because we already had our eye on one Xavier, and we didn’t want to confuse the locker room. But all jokes aside, Worthy is a talented player, and we respected his skill set during the scouting process. However, we believe Legette was the right fit for us. He’s been outstanding, and it’s nice to see our Xavier making such a big impact for this team.
So, yes, we’ve got plenty of love for all the Xaviers out there, but we’re quite happy with the one we’ve got on our roster.
