Five Kansas City Chiefs players who must step up in 2022
WR Mecole Hardman
As mentioned previously with Clyde Edwards-Helaire, the Chiefs will be without wide receiver Tyreek Hill. Not only will the Chiefs be without Hill, they will also be without wide receivers Demarcus Robinson and Byron Pringle, who have both moved on to other teams.
This means Gehrig Dieter and Mecole Hardman are the two longest-tenured wide receivers in Kansas City. Yes, that sounds weird, but it is true. Although Dieter has been with the Chiefs two years longer than Hardman, we know Hardman will get far more activity than Dieter, who has caught just two passes in 10 games.
Hardman, a second-round pick, was Kansas City’s first draft selection in the 2019 NFL Draft. The selection was interesting at the time because there was speculation that Hardman might replace Hill while Hill was accused of child abuse. The day before the Hardman selection, an audio clip (that was heavily edited and had a one-sided agenda) came out and there was some uncertainty about Hill’s future in Kansas City.
When the Chiefs selected Hardman, many viewed the pick as insurance in case Hill did not return to the Chiefs. Fast forward to three years later, Hill has been traded and Hardman is the wide receiver who is the most familiar with the Chiefs’ offensive playbook.
Hardman caught 26 catches for 538 yards as a rookie, pulled in 41 receptions for 560 yards the following year, and had 59 catches for 693 yards this past year. However, Hardman’s yard per catch average has declined. He averaged a strong 20.7 yards per reception in 2019 as a rookie. That dropped to 13.7 the following year and dropped again to 11.7 in 2021. His touchdown total has also gone down after catching six touchdowns as a rookie and scoring two fewer touchdowns each year.
Hardman finds himself in an interesting spot with JuJu Smith-Schuster and Marquez Valdes-Scantling coming to Kansas City. There is also Josh Gordon, who will try to take advantage of a full offseason to try to return to his old Pro Bowl form.
Hardman and the rest of the receiving corps have a lot of talent. But it is not guaranteed that they play to their potential. If the offense can use the speed to his advantage, Hardman and company could have a great 2022 with Patrick Mahomes throwing the ball to them.