How and why the KC Chiefs finally got the Mecole Hardman they’ve been waiting to see
Chiefs wide receiver Tyreek Hill met head coach Andy Reid in the middle of a soggy field in Denver, just about an hour before kickoff, and delivered some news that would alter Reid’s blueprint for the next few hours.
Hill had felt soreness in his heel during warmups, he admitted, an injury that has bothered him in past seasons. So with the Chiefs already having sealed a playoff spot — even with the No. 1 seed still at stake — subsequent conversations would determine it best if Hill would take on more of a supporting role. The coaching staff made its adjustments. They informed the quarterback.
And wouldn’t you know it, just about the last person in the locker room to learn all of this is the guy it affected the most.
Mecole Hardman. His backup.
“Well, first, let’s talk about this pregame — nobody told me nothing until, like, kickoff,” Hardman said. “I’m like, ‘Ya’ll said what?”
And then ...
“Definitely gotta flip that switch,” he said.
A switch that, at least at times, has been frustratingly stuck in neutral found its next gear.
At last.
Hardman produced the first 100-yard game of his career in the Chiefs’ 28-24 win in Denver on Saturday, and he furnished it at a time in which the Chiefs desperately needed it. At a time in which they might not win without it.
At a time that, frankly, has been a long time coming.
“No one is Tyreek — he’s a special player that has never been seen in this league,” quarterback Patrick Mahomes said. “But Mecole is pretty close. He has a lot of the speed. He has a lot of the shiftiness and stuff like that.
“He stepped right in that moment. He knew all of the plays that Tyreek were (going to be) calling for him. He made plays happen when we called his number.”
The Chiefs have waited for Hardman to take this kind of step forward. They talked of his growth during training camp. Mentioned it during the season. But the numbers haven’t taken a leap.
The stability has been evasive. Eventually, in turn, the playing time was, too. Hardman played only nine snaps — nine! — the last time the Chiefs played the Broncos. Quietly caught one pass for 12 yards that evening.
He came into the NFL three years ago knowing how to run the fly pattern — he can get by on his speed. But as defenses have erased that option for the Chiefs offense, they’ve silenced Hardman.
Which is why Saturday’s performance should encourage more than the final numbers (8 catches, 103 yards) alone. Reid acknowledged some of the plays that targeted Hardman on Saturday are drawn up for No. 10.
Without No. 10, they went to No. 17. And he went for 103.
The Chiefs asked Hardman to do his damage after he’d been greeted with the ball. He responded with certainty, not indecisiveness. Hardman lost his full-time punt return job this season, with the Chiefs giving chances to Mike Hughes, showing a preference for the latter’s ability to just catch it and go.
On Saturday, offered short, quick passes behind the line of scrimmage, Hardman just went. Among his 103 yards, he totaled 99 of them after the catch, per Next Gen Stats.
“We were able to get the ball in his hands quick, and you saw him just explode,” Reid said. “He was playing fast — I mean, very fast. He was explosive. We’ve seen that in other games, too, but he really had opportunities to get it quickly and hit it.”
Seen it at times, sure. He’s made big plays. Caught big touchdowns.
But never this consistently. Even his postgame reaction — “I finally got 100. Damn,” he said — indicated the long wait.
The day finally arrived. Will this stick around? Can consistency move from one game to two? To three? That’s what the Chiefs envisioned when the traded up to select him 56th overall in 2019.
On the first play of their final offensive drive Saturday — the possession to ensure the Broncos wouldn’t see the ball again — the Chiefs lined up at their own 25-yard line and called a play for Hardman. He caught the pass behind the line of scrimmage and accelerated up field immediately.
He exploded. He was decisive. And some 44 yards later, the Chiefs were already in the Broncos’ half of the field.
“He has all the talent in the world,” Mahomes said. “We’ll need that going forward into the playoffs.”
This story was originally published January 8, 2022 at 8:53 PM with the headline "How and why the KC Chiefs finally got the Mecole Hardman they’ve been waiting to see."