Andy Reid, Patrick Mahomes weigh in on Mecole Hardman’s progress so far

Chiefs head coach Andy Reid liked what he saw in his initial look at Kansas City’s top pick, wide receiver Mecole Hardman, back in early May at the team’s rookie minicamp. Reid noted Hardman’s smarts, his work in the red zone and how he progressed over the three-day camp.

But it is one thing to go against fellow rookies and tryouts—this past week was Hardman’s first opportunity for offense-defense drills that included some of the team’s veterans.

“Yeah, it’s been good,” Reid said after the Chiefs’ open OTAs session Thursday. “I can’t tell you it’s been a ton of team reps, but the reps he’s had he’s done very well with. Mecole’s getting better every day, that’s been kind of fun to watch.”

Quarterback Patrick Mahomes also discussed what he saw in Hardman.

“He’s a great player,” Mahomes said. “Obviously, he’s very fast, but he’s working on everything—route-running, getting accustomed to the offense.”

Hardman’s role remains something to watch given the uncertainty to Tyreek Hill’s status with the club. Many speculated the Chiefs traded up to take Hardman with the 56th overall pick because they feel they may not have Hill for at least a period of time. Hardman offers the lightning speed on offense the Chiefs have grown used to when Hill is available.

On night two of the draft, general manager Brett Veach told old friend BJ Kissel of Chiefs dot com that Mahomes texted him a roadrunner emoji after the Chiefs selected Hardman.

“I was very excited,” Mahomes said of the Hardman selection. “When you add guys and add depth, it really is a special thing to know that the staff and everybody keeps adding and are never satisfied with where we are at, we are going to keep getting better every single year.”

Earlier this week, Mahomes zinged Hardman on social media when the 21-year-old wide receiver posted a “sneak peak” to his official Twitter account.

“I was just joking a little bit,” Mahomes explained Thursday. “There is sometimes he runs, he gets like 45-50 yards downfield—he kind of slows down. I told him, ‘Keep running. Just keep running.’ And that’s something that we’ve all kind of gotten accustomed to—we always want to stay alive, keep running.

“There’s no clear routes. We want to make sure that everyone knows they have a chance to catch the ball.”