Kansas City Chiefs: What each drafted player can provide in 2019

Mecole Hardman

Many people thought it was a mistake or a reach when the Chiefs traded up to select Mecole Hardman, but it actually appears that the Chiefs may have actually made the right call.

As you can see in the tweet below Veach points out that teams may have possibly been trying to trade up to select Hardman as they were receiving calls for their 61st pick, but after selecting Hardman those teams weren’t interested in the 63rd pick.

Also according to Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News, the Jets specifically tried to trade up for Hardman, but the Chiefs jumped one spot in front of them to take Hardman. This pick also started a run of wide receiver selections, so had they waited Hardman probably would not have been available for the Chiefs at 61.

The Chiefs got their guy though regardless or whether they needed to trade up or not. Hardman is a smaller speedy receiver similar to that if Tyreek Hill. Now, we don’t know for sure what is going to happen with Hill’s future as a Chief, but it appears the Chiefs did their best to get a Hill clone for his replacement. His 4.33-second 40-yard dash is pretty fast and he was actually disappointed in it and has apparently ran it in the 4.2s in the past.

Hardman is not a perfect receiver, but you can’t teach speed and he has that. The route running and hands are probably his biggest concerns, but those concerns can be improved upon throughout his career. Hill had similar concerns coming into the NFL and he made sure to improve in these categories every year until he was a matchup nightmare on-field.

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What is interesting about Hardman is that he was a quarterback in high school and started out as a cornerback at Georgia before switching to receiver. This experience could turn into a good advantage for Hardman and his route running, knowing from a quarterbacks perspective what they expect and knowing the best ways to beat your defender from his experiences at the cornerback position.

Don’t expect last year’s Hill production in 2019 from Hardman, but what he can no doubt do right away is make a difference in the return game. He is quick and shifty which should make for a good punt returner.

On offense, the Chiefs could utilize Hardman in jet sweeps and wide receiver quick screens to get the ball to him and allow him to use his speed out in space. Also, even if not catching as many passes as Hill did, using his speed to run deep routes will force the defense to respect him and make it easier on other receivers to get open on underneath routes.

Chiefs fans are hearing the Hill comparisons and getting really excited about Hardman. While it is great to be excited about him, we also need to temper our expectations a little. It isn’t fair or realistic to expect him to step in and do exactly what Hill did production-wise.

With that said, whether it shows in 2019 or not, the Chiefs got a very exciting player that has a chance to have a Hill-like impact on the game at some point in his future.