Mecole Hardman’s growth draws praise from Andy Reid
By Matt Conner
Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid praised rookie wide receiver Mecole Hardman for his growth in the preseason during a media session on Thursday.
When the Kansas City Chiefs first selected Mecole Hardman in the 2019 NFL Draft’s second round, the dominant idea was that he was primarily an insurance policy, a necessary handcuff of sorts in case things went south with the investigations and drama surrounding Tyreek Hill this offseason.
The popular thought, so it seemed, was that the Chiefs offense was Super Bowl ready last year which made replacing Hill, inasmuch as a team can do it, should be a major priority.
After the draft, however, Brett Veach, the team’s general manager, insisted Hardman was a primary target all along for the Chiefs. The idea wasn’t to bring him if things went bad for Hill. The plan was to help expand the offensive capabilities of an already historic unit. Hill set a franchise record for most receiving yards in a single season in 2018. Travis Kelce set the receptions record. Sammy Watkins, when healthy, is as dangerous as anyone, which makes the addition of Hardman another impossible wrinkle to defend.
Fortunately for the Chiefs, Hardman was ready for the pros. Despite coming up in a run-first offense at Georgia, the Chiefs have described him as a sponge as he takes in the offense.
“He’s grown a lot since we first got him here, figuring it all out,” said Reid. “I like his progress. He’s attacked it. We talked about where he started and where he’s at now, it’s a completely different level. You can tell by the respect he gets from the guys and the respect he has in return for the veteran players. They’ve accepted him in there and he’s worked hard to gain that respect.
“All these guys are different. Our thing as coaches, we try to exploit their strengths and then work on their weaknesses and try to help them get better. So, some of his strengths we’re going to try to utilize and then we’ll keep teaching as we go and see where he goes to. It’s been fun to watch him get to this point. He’s still got a lot of work ahead but he’s working at it, which is important.”
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Hardman might lack for touches given the mouths to feed at the position, but when he does get the ball, it will likely be at a time and place where he will be able to maximize his talents the most. The Chiefs are good at that, and given the growth curve of Hardman and his natural skill set, the team has yet another weapon to deploy on Sundays that’s going to be ready to do at least some damage from Week 1.