Mecole Hardman

Hardman's going to be relied upon a little bit more this year than in season's past due to the departure of Sammy Watkins. There's a gap here in this receiving corps where someone else will need to step up and carry their weight. Hardman has all the tools to do just that, but he seemingly hasn't been able to put it together for fantasy purposes yet. At his current ADP, it's worth taking the shot on him to see if he can turn into that reliable weekly starter, but it's important to exercise caution. We could be hyping up another breakout season only to be disappointed again.

Mecole Hardman: Chiefs are still bullish on third-year receiver

Nate Taylor with the Athletic is reporting that despite the Chiefs' misses for a secondary wide receiver in 2021's free agency season, the team is still bullish on Mecole Hardman.

Fantasy Impact

The Chiefs are expected to lose Sammy Watkins this offseason. Demarcus Robinson just signed a fresh deal, but that potentially leaves the Chiefs with a gaping hole in their roster behind Tyreek Hill. When Hardman was drafted 56th overall in 2019, a lot of analysts assumed he was there to fill in for Hill's role in case of an injury or transaction that sent the latter elsewhere. As it stands right now though, Hill are Hardman are the two top receivers. Both undersized and with blazing speed, they can do work outside the numbers while Travis Kelce draws attention across the middle. In his article, Taylor cited COVID-19 and a shortened preseason for the underwhelming season Hardman provided. Hardman racked up seven all-purpose touchdowns as a rookie, dropping to five in his second year. Additionally, his involvement in the offense didn't see much of a boost, going from 41 to 63 targets. Given his speed and the Chiefs' electric offense, Hardman will make for a decent late-round target in most leagues.