Kansas City Chiefs draft grade: High ceiling, high floor prospects on Day 2

The Chiefs have taken Mecole Hardman, Juan Thornhill and Khalen Saunders. How did the Chiefs do? We discuss the newest team’s newest players.

The Chiefs have made their first three selections of 2019. While it is impossible to know exactly how a player’s NFL career will go based off of their college career, I am going to give my initial take away from the selections of Mecole Hardman, Juan Thornhill, and Khalen Saunders as well as a way-too-early grade, because all draft grades are too early.

My initial take away from the group as a whole is how Brett Veach is approaching this year’s draft. He is not only taking guys that have a high ceiling, but also decently high floors. All three players selected stand little chance of being complete busts, in my opinion. That being said, let us begin with Mecole Hardman.

Mecole Hardman, WR, Georgia – 56th overall, 2nd round

Initial takeaway:

To me, this is the signal for the end of Tyreek Hill‘s career with the Chiefs. I don’t believe that there is any way that Hardman was the Chiefs initial guy going into the draft. When the Tyreek Hill news surfaced, Brett Veach was left with very little choice, but to draft a playmaker for Patrick Mahomes to make up for some of the production that Hill created.

Positives from the pick:

Hardman is a speedy player who can burn people off of the line of scrimmage. His burst is very good and his vision with the ball in his hands is incredible. I like his vertical ability and his ability to track the ball. The Chiefs are blessed with more speed for the offense and for special teams.

Negatives from the pick:

Mecole Hardman has a pretty small frame and may have a smaller catch radius. Also part of his size, his downfield physicality is not great. For players that at the top of the league, being able to box out defenders and use their body to their advantage. This is where the he could use a bit of improvement.

Grade: C+

Again, it is way too early to know how Hardman will play in the NFL; However, his talent is not as high as many of the receivers that went in round two, in my opinion. While his playmaking ability is incredible and he has been gifted with top-notch speed, he will need to improve in several parts of his game to be a true number one receiver in the NFL.