Kansas City Chiefs Are Counting On Mecole Hardman During His Contract Year

With the Kansas City Chiefs having traded away Tyreek Hill — perhaps the NFL’s best deep threat — it could mean a bigger opportunity for wide receiver Mecole Hardman.

“Mecole has the speed like a Tyreek had,” Chiefs head coach Andy Reid said during Monday’s press conference. “He was coming off a good year.”

Hardman, who ran the 40 in 4.34 seconds at the 2019 NFL Combine, had the most targets (83), receptions (59) and yards (693) of his career last season.

But his past year wasn’t without its struggles.

Hardman went through a November-December swoon where he seemingly lost the confidence of the coaching staff. He received fewer than 40% of the offensive snaps from Week 11 to Week 14.

He, though, bounced back by the end of the year.

His best game came in the 2021 regular-season finale when he recorded 103 receiving yards in the Chiefs’ 28-24 victory against the Denver Broncos. Hardman scored on a 25-yard run in the epic playoff win against the Buffalo Bills. Then in the following week’s AFC Championship Game, he contributed 70 total yards and a touchdown.

“He made a lot of big plays in big moments,” quarterback Patrick Mahomes said.

In those moments Hardman demonstrated some of the traits Hill has.

“He gives you a nice skillset there with the speed and quickness,” Reid said, “and ability to run when the ball is in his hands.”

Without Hill, Hardman, who had the most rushes of his career (eight) last year, could see even more action as a runner on jet sweeps, end-arounds and reverses.

Whether it’s in the running or passing game, 2022 will be integral for Hardman, who enters the final year of his four-year, $5 million rookie deal.

A contract year provides ample motivation for any NFL player.

“Money talks, right?” Reid said. “They’re all gonna try their best, have their best year but within the framework of the team.”

Reid doesn’t plan on addressing that contract status with Hardman. He said the receiver will be well-aware.

“These guys are well-educated and they know what’s at stake,” he said. “We’ve been fortunate that the guys have really been in attack mode when they get into those situations.”

Hill initially was headed into his contract year with the Chiefs before Kansas City traded him to the Miami Dolphins.

To help fill the immense void of the six-time Pro Bowler, Kansas City signed JuJu Smith-Schuster to a one-year deal and former Green Bay Packers receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling to a three-year, $30 million deal. Both have been catching passes from Mahomes during training sessions in the quarterback’s native state of Texas.

Valdes-Scantling is known for his speed, having led the NFL in yards per catch in 2020, but Reid praised his versatility.

“Marquez can do a lot of different things,” he said. “(The Packers) did more than just (use) him as a deep threat.”

Look for the Chiefs to add even more receiving help.

With six picks in the first three rounds — two of which were acquired in the Hill trade — the Chiefs likely will select a receiver in a 2022 NFL Draft that has been lauded for both its talent and depth at the position.

“It’s a great wide receiver draft,” NFL Network and NFL Draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah said. “I feel pretty comfortable with being able to get other guys outside of round one.”

Despite a Chiefs receiving room that could be completely overhauled and lost its best weapon in Hill, Reid expressed confidence in Hardman, his four-year veteran.

“We know what Mecole can do,” he said. “And he’s going to continue to grow.”