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On the Monday mailbag edition of the AP Laboratory podcast, we addressed the issues Mecole Hardman should to work on so as to grow to be a extra dependable third huge receiver. This comes on the heels of Adam Teicher’s report that the Chiefs could potentially bring Sammy Watkins back — primarily an indictment in opposition to Hardman’s future function.
Even when the Chiefs convey Watkins in for 2021, I don’t personally consider that Hardman will likely be greater than a 3rd huge receiver. However what does he must do to earn extra alternatives within the offense? Regardless of his quotes in Teicher’s article, I consider he must develop and develop his route tree. Can Hardman run each route? Certain. To nice success? Not up to now in his profession.
Patrick Mahomes hasn’t entrusted Hardman with targets in construction fairly often. He hasn’t trusted him to get open — or actually accomplished a lot in the way in which of even him. That’s an issue with regard to Hardman’s improvement — not in any manner, form or type a critique of Mahomes. Hardman merely hasn’t been earned his quarterback’s belief.
In his first fifteen sport scripts, Andy Reid has prioritized manufactured touches for Hardman. However when it’s time to run the offense for the remainder of the sport, Hardman largely goes unnoticed. Within the Super Bowl, he wasted a couple of alternatives. He wasn’t on the identical web page with Mahomes — and should have pulled up too shortly on one early throw.
The alarming factor for Hardman, nonetheless, is that he was much less of an element down the sphere this previous season than he was in in 2019. The explosive performs weren’t as huge of an element — he didn’t have a catch over 50 yards your complete season — and his landing manufacturing dipped. In essence, Hardman’s high-variance nature caught as much as him. If he’s not making explosive performs, his skill to work inside the offenses diminishes — as evidenced by his 7-yard dip in yards per catch.
Even when it’s just some routes that work off the vertical airplane, Mecole should construct from his pace so he can threaten down the sphere. He may develop a pace out — which we noticed a couple of occasions in 2020 — or a curl. These may assist him get extra concerned. Hardman has the pace, however he additionally has hip tightness that limits his skill to make sharp breaks — thereby decreasing his skill to develop a full route tree.
If can do this stuff, it’s doubtless his function nonetheless received’t develop a lot past being the third wideout — and that’s okay. The workforce wants that. However I may see the Chiefs aggressively including in free company and the draft to restrict his alternatives past that.
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