Well, the Green Bay Packers finally made a move at wide receiver. On Tuesday, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reported that the team has signed former Kansas City Chiefs and New York Jets receiver Mecole Hardman. At the moment, the contract details for the former second-round pick have yet to be disclosed.
Green Bay needs speed at the receiver position after their field-stretcher Christian Watson went down with an ACL tear. Hardman certainly brings that element to the Packers’ offense. As a draft prospect in 2019, Hardman ran a 4.33-second 40-yard dash at 5’10” and 187 pounds.
As a rookie, Hardman was named a Pro Bowler, second-team All-Pro and PFWA All-Rookie Team selection for his return ability. That year, he returned 27 kickoffs for 704 yards and a touchdown. He’s also taken 89 punt returns in his NFL career. Unfortunately for Hardman, though, his all-purpose yardage peaked as a rookie with 1,426 in 2019. In the next two years, he finished just under 1,000 all-purpose yards and hasn’t cracked 500 yards since 2021.
At the moment, it should be assumed that Hardman signed a fairly low-cost deal that will allow him to compete for a returner role and push Bo Melton for his roster spot. For reference, Hardman signed a one-year, $1.25 million deal with the Chiefs last June. Hardman went down with a knee injury in December of last year and was put on injured reserve, which he didn’t return from by the time Kansas City played in the Super Bowl against the Philadelphia Eagles.
With cornerback Keisean Nixon, a former two-time All-Pro, stating that he’s done being a kickoff returner, there’s potential for Hardman to stick on the 53-man roster in 2025.
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