KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Throughout the Chiefs' OTA practice Wednesday, one of the most vocal men on the field was not quarterback Patrick Mahomes, offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy or coach Andy Reid. Instead, that person was Chad O'Shea.
Who?
O'Shea, the Chiefs' new receivers coach, has not been shy about expressing his thoughts and opinions in the two voluntary practices that have been open to reporters. O'Shea has shouted, cursed and given plenty of positive feedback, whether during individual drills or after certain repetitions. The player who received most of O'Shea's comments was Xavier Worthy, the speedy third-year player who excelled in the practices.
A strong argument can be made that Reid's biggest hire this offseason among his positional assistant coaches is O'Shea, who is tasked with helping the Chiefs' receivers -- a group that performed underwhelmingly last season -- develop better habits, techniques and production. O'Shea, who began his NFL coaching career in Kansas City in 2003 under coach Dick Vermeil, was hired to replace Connor Embree, who offered a different, more quiet personality on the practice field.
"I love the game, and I love teaching," O'Shea said following Wednesday's practice. "I'm so excited to be able to learn and be under coach Reid. There hasn't been a day I haven't learned from him."
There have been plenty of moments where O'Shea has presented coaching tips to Worthy, who has been the Chiefs' top receiver the past two weeks of practices.
Last week, O'Shea was pleased when he observed how quickly Worthy was able to find a defender in the open field for a blocking drill on the perimeter. Worthy ran the smoothest routes in the Chiefs' 7-on-7 reps, too. Mahomes displayed excellent accuracy. And Mahomes, with the offense in the red zone, was able to complete two excellent intermediate passes to Worthy, who caught the ball between two defenders in the back of the end zone.
"He's really doing a nice job," Reid said of Worthy. "It's great for him to be able to detail things and he's working like crazy at it. I think he feels more comfortable now."
When Worthy made a mistake in Wednesday's practice, dropping the ball near the goal line in a 7-on-7 period, he bowed his head and placed his hands on his helmet. O'Shea shouted. A few minutes later, Worthy made a contested catch in the corner of the end zone while being covered by rookie cornerback Mansoor Delane, the Chiefs' top draft pick. One of the first people to celebrate Worthy's highlight, featuring a high-five, was O'Shea.
"He is tremendous in the classroom," O'Shea said of Worthy. "He's very coachable. I've been very impressed with his ball skills. He catches the ball very well in all three levels -- short, intermediate and the deep passes. I know about the speed, but I'm excited about how well he's caught the ball."
X in action. @XavierWorthy pic.twitter.com/e9H3vIAY1V
— Kansas City Chiefs (@Chiefs) June 3, 2026
Despite their offense struggling last season, the Chiefs didn't make any major acquisitions in the offseason at the receiver position. They instead trusted that their top players on the depth chart -- Worthy, Rashee Rice and Tyquan Thornton -- can all collectively have breakout performances under Bieniemy and O'Shea. No one in the trio has yet to produce 1,000 yards or more in a season.
While Worthy and Thornton have run routes together to strengthen their timing and chemistry with Mahomes, Rice has been in jail in Dallas since May 19. On that day, he was sentenced to serve 30 days after testing positive for marijuana which was in violation of the terms of his probation for his role in a crash that left multiple people injured on a Dallas highway two years ago. Rice is set to be released from custody June 16, meaning he will miss the Chiefs' mandatory minicamp, which will run June 9-11.
"When he gets back, we've got to get him caught up and doing what he needs to do," Reid said of Rice last week. "It's not an easy thing he's going through. Life lessons are important, but we're all given chances to learn. He's in that position now."
Last season, the player who led the Chiefs in receptions (76), receiving yards (851) and yards after the catch (424) was tight end Travis Kelce.
However, Kelce was also involved in one of the Chiefs' most significant injuries, when he collided with Worthy while both were running drag routes in the opposite direction on the third play of the season opener against the Los Angeles Chargers. Worthy sustained a right shoulder injury that forced him to miss two games, and he also played through most of the season with an ankle injury, one that required surgery earlier this offseason to fully repair. He finished last year with 42 receptions on 73 targets for 532 yards and one touchdown.
"That was a unique deal," Reid said of Worthy's shoulder injury in late March. "We kind of, after that, were afraid to do certain things with him. I think him coming back healthy opens up that whole picture you saw during [last year's] training camp, where he had a whole bunch of different routes in there.
"He's fearless across the middle. That's one of the best things he does, working underneath and over the top. We kind of stayed away from that and we tried to protect him."
Toe-tap Tyquan sighting 👀 @Humble_Ty19 pic.twitter.com/QJsG9AQJZw
— Kansas City Chiefs (@Chiefs) June 3, 2026
If the Chiefs don't add another receiver before the season starts, O'Shea should have clear objectives for how each of the trio of receivers can improve.
Worthy wants to be featured more often in the offense, proving he can use his speed in each area of the field and when he has the ball in the open space. Thornton, who had a career-high 438 yards and three touchdowns last season, doesn't want most of his targets and receptions being generated as just the deep threat to keep opponents from always using two defenders to cover Kelce, which occurred often. As for Rice, who last month had a cleanup surgery on his right knee to remove loose debris that was causing inflammation, he must demonstrate he can beat man-to-man coverage more often and catch the ball in a more consistent manner.
"He's got a lot of experience and coached a lot of really good players, so it's good to have him in that spot," Reid said of O'Shea. "I think that discipline on offense is very, very important, that you maintain that and incorporate that into the structure of what you're doing as far as running plays."
Such an example occurred in Wednesday's practice.
In one of the 7-on-7 periods, a group of receivers had confusion on who was lining up at each of the three spots along the formation. The mistake happened three times while Mahomes commanded the small huddle while sharing the playcall. For a moment, Bieniemy stopped the period to send the group of players, including Mahomes, to the sideline.
"It's always about overcommunicating clarity," Bieniemy said Wednesday. "When we get in the huddle, we need to know as a group which position we're playing. It's something so simple, but because of that the little things become a big thing because we're not overcommunicating with each other. Now there's a problem in the huddle, and that impacts everything. So, you know what, you kick them off the field and you let the next group go.
"We don't have time to waste. We can utilize that moment as a lesson. If that was to happen on a gameday, hell, we'd hear it from [fans]. We burned a timeout. Or, hell, we get a penalty and everybody is booing the hell out of us. S---, it'd be bad. Those lessons need to be taught when those situations present themselves."
One receiver who is not in the trio who has received increased repetitions with Mahomes is Jalen Royals. A second-year player, Royals spent much of last year as a redshirt rookie who learned under Rice and veteran JuJu Smith-Schuster, who earlier this week joined the New York Giants. The Chiefs are hoping Royals can be a viable, rotational option in the slot for Mahomes.
"With Rashee not here, it gives Jalen some great reps," Reid said last week. "He looks strong out here and [is] running well. It's great for him and the quarterbacks to see what he is all about on repeated reps."
