The Kansas City Chiefs traded up to number 56 in the 2019 NFL Draft to select Georgia Bulldogs WR Mecole Hardman Jr., who is the UGA star I’m most looking forward to watching in the NFL. Hardman Jr. was a lot of fun to watch at Georgia, but he’ll be even more fun to watch in the NFL with 2018 NFL MVP Patrick Mahomes throwing him the ball.
Hardman is a similar player to current Chiefs WR Tyreek Hill. Hardman isn’t as low to the ground and built as Hill, so he won’t be used as a running back like the Chiefs occasionally use Hill. Hardman does run a 4.3 forty yard dash and has explosiveness to get wide open for deep passes or rack on yards after the catch on short passes.
Hardman looks just as fast on the football field, where he is capable of blowing by defenders:
Above, Hardman burns the LSU cornerback, but can’t reel in Jake Fromm’s overthrown deep ball. While Fromm is an excellent college QB, he still can’t compete with the best young QB in the NFL Patrick Mahomes:
Mahomes throws deep balls on a dime and can evade pressure to buy more time for slower developing routes. With a Tyreek Hill suspension very possible, Hardman may find himself as the number two wide receiver to start the season. An often-injured Sammy Watkins is the other big-name receiver the Chiefs has, but his health is always in question. At the bare minimum, Hardman can expect to win the number three WR job and stretch the field for Kansas City.
Hardman was a reason to pay the expensive ticket prices in Athens and now he will be paired with NFL MVP Patrick Mahomes. All I can say for other NFL teams is watch out!
