Why this Chiefs touchdown shows Mecole Hardman’s growth in his rookie year
The jump pass drew all of the attention. How could it not? In his first game back from a knee dislocation, Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes threw a dart 20 yards in air ... with neither of his feet touching the ground as the football left his hand.
Hours later, after the Chiefs’ 35-32 loss to the Tennessee Titans last weekend, Mahomes would says it’s a throw that he actually practices — just in case he might need it. In other words, we might see it again.
The back end of the play — wide receiver Mecole Hardman’s route, catch and run to the end zone — is a sequence the Chiefs hope has staying power. Because it’s been a point of emphasis with Hardman in his rookie season.
“It was a great route by Mecole — a route that he probably wouldn’t have been able to run at the beginning of this year,” Mahomes said. “It shows that he’s progressing and getting better every single week.”
The explosiveness has never been in question. Hardman has a knack for the big play, his speed particularly dangerous after the catch. Mahomes’ jump pass tallied 63 yards, and most of the work arrived after the reception as Hardman outran a pair of defenders. Hardman leads the NFL at 20.8 yards per reception, the highest total any player in the league has had since DeSean Jackson in 2014.
It’s the less obvious details that have required more consistent attention, which, to be fair, is nothing against the norm for a first-year player. In the second week of the season — a game at Oakland in which Hardman caught his first career touchdown — Mahomes indicated the two weren’t on the same page on a key third-down incompletion in the first quarter. Hardman made a move on a safety to create separation. Mahomes wanted a quicker break toward the sideline.
Subsequent plays have precipitated conversations on the sideline between receiver and quarterback.
Which returns to the root of Mahomes’ praise of the play against the Titans. Hardman ran to his spot and quickly stuttered to create slight separation. A defender unexpectedly sat on his inside hip, so Hardman adjusted and twisted his body in the opposite direction. Immediately, he turned to look for the pass.
“What was hard was the dude was on my inside hip,” Hardman said. “(But) I broke away from him. ... If he’s on my outside, I’m going to go in. If he’s on my inside, I’m gonna go out.”
The Chiefs have preached patience with Hardman — both on offense and special teams after his second fumble on a kickoff two weeks ago. Special teams coordinator Dave Toub recently chalked up that miscue to “a rookie mistake.” And in the same thought, he compared Hardman’s breakout potential to that of a veteran teammate — Tyreek Hill.
So, yes, the Chiefs remain high on his potential, even as his offensive snaps have taken dwindled with Hill’s return from injury last month.
“I’m definitely comfortable,” Hardman said. “You get that chemistry down — you get what you want down.”