Mecole Hardman, the Latest Georgia Bulldog to Thrive in NFL Playoffs
Georgia has been one of the top producers of NFL talent for decades. However, a new trend is starting to emerge from that talent. They are producing big for their teams in the postseason.
In the 2018-2019 season, two high profile Georgia running backs faced off in the Super Bowl. Todd Gurley led his Rams all year in dominating fashion before he was slowed with an injury. His counterpart and former teammate Sony Michel had a terrific postseason run for the Patriots and scored the only touchdown of the game in their Super Bowl LIII win.
The 2019-2020 season is proving no different as another former Dawg is taking the league by storm. Mecole Hardman was drafted in the 2nd round by the Kansas City Chiefs and has gone on to be named to the Pro Bowl in his rookie season.
Hardman is not only gaining the praise of his peers and coaches in the league, but all-time greats are taking notice as well. Two-time Pro Bowl returner and former Chief Dante Hall chimed in with extremely lofty praise for the Elberton, Georgia native on The Pat Mcafee Show earlier this week.
Punt Returner, Mecole Hardman
When asked who his favorite returner in the league was Hall emphatically stated, “Oh that’s easy! Mecole Hardman!” Hall went on to put the tremendous impact the electrifying rookie has had for the Chiefs in perspective.
Referring to Tyreek Hill’s status coming into the year and the drafting of Hardman, Hall explained, “The Chiefs didn’t know and they went and got an insurance policy.” That policy has paid huge dividends, and according to Hall, “He’s saved us in two games so far! If you’ve been paying attention to the Chiefs... in the final week (of the regular season), down 24, he hit a return, broke the game wide open. We’re down last week, he breaks a return when we’re down 24 to 7, gets the ball rolling.”
Quotes come via the Pat Mcafee show.
Mecole Hardman finished the game with 6 total returns for 142 yards. That’s an average of 23.7 yards per return and the long of 58 yards changed the game for the Chiefs.
Hardman has also been a weapon at receiver for KC, averaging 20.7 yards per reception. 23% of Mecole’s receptions have gone for touchdowns and there is no doubt his game-breaking ability could be key in the AFC Championship against the Tennessee Titans.
Don’t think for a second that the big game atmosphere will be daunting for Hardman. Mecole put a tweet out Friday attributing his confidence in big moments to the many high consequence games he played at Georgia.
The Dawgs certainly played in some big game environments when Mecole was in Athens. 2 SEC Championship games, a Rose Bowl, and Sugar Bowl were all on the list, along with the 2017-2018 National Championship Game in which Hardman had two big receptions for 80 yards and a touchdown.
Another big game performance could put another former Georgia skill player with an opportunity to hoist the Lombardi Trophy in his rookie season.
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