In the NFL, it’s ‘go hard or go home.’ But the Chiefs were in a difficult spot when their receivers, Rashee Rice and Hollywood Brown, were both placed on injured reserve. So when rookie Xavier Worthy suddenly became their No. 1 receiver, the team knew that they needed a veteran to take some of the pressure off his shoulders and that’s where DeAndre Hopkins came in with his 35 passes for 393 yards and four touchdowns in eight games. He also took on a very important role—mentorship.

It is one hundred percent true that you can’t make it all alone out there. Do you know why the Pats won the championship six times? Because they had Bill Belichick. When you’re out there on the gridiron, sometimes you can’t see your mistakes. That’s why you have coaches on the sidelines. And in this case, Chiefs‘ young WR Xavier Worthy is lucky.

He has got not just Andy Reid, but DeAndre Hopkins as a mentor too.

However, when Hopkins said something about Xavier Worthy after the Texans game, the internet jumped to conclusions. Many fans took it as a dig at the young WR. What did he say?

“Xavier made some good plays out there. I’m one of his hardest critics, so I want him to make every catch that comes his way. It’s going to come, as he gets more play in time and plays in this league. I want him to have two touchdowns instead of one,” said DeAndre Hopkins after their win.

The WR also referred to his senior, Andre Johnson, who had him under his wing when he was young and new to the NFL. “I had someone who pushed me to be better every day, and I want to do the same for Xavier,” Hopkins explained. Unfortunately, many took this as public criticism. Responding to this backlash, Hopkins took to Instagram and made a cryptic post.

By posting a picture of ‘Kenny McCormick,’ Hopkins took a dig at everyone who thought he was criticizing Worthy. The 32-year-old posted a pic of ‘Kenny McCormick‘ on his Instagram, along with a clip from his latest game. To give you some context, Kenny McCormick is a character from South Park, and because he wears a hood that covers his mouth, others don’t really understand what he says.

Well, people had their say, but Xavier Worthy knows he has a lot to learn from his veteran teammate. And that mindset is what is going to take him to big heights in this league.

Xavier Worthy is eager to learn from DeAndre Hopkins!

When the Chiefs didn’t have DeAndre Hopkins, Xavier Worthy was their guy. But the team quickly realized they needed to tweak their offensive lineup and did so as soon as they could.  In the middle of the season, back in October, Andy Reid’s team traded for Hopkins from the Titans.

Soon after, the WR rocked his red jersey in the game against the Raiders in Week 8. And just like how he has impressed us all these years, he made an impact on young Xavier too.

Or you could say that the young WR was eager to learn from the veteran. Just a few weeks with the Reds, and Hopkins was already positively influencing the young guys. Xavier came knocking at Hopkins’s door, asking him all sorts of questions:

“I try to pick his brain as much as possible without being super annoying,” said Worthy. “Ask him, like, little questions, like, How’d you go about this when you’re this age, and stuff like that, just little things,” said the Texas Longhorns alum.

Not only that, Worthy describes his fellow WR as a calm, chill, and father-like figure. For him, having Hopkins around makes things a lot easier. And honestly, we can see that in the Chiefs’ performance.

After conquering their AFC West division, they’re now eyeing to secure the No. 1 seed in the playoffs by winning their remaining two games. Whether they’ll be able to do that or not is something we will have to wait and watch. What do you think?