Problems with Mecole Hardman as a Bear

It seemed Chiefs free agent receiver Mecole Hardman was expressing interest in joining Justin Fields with the Bears on social media but is it a good idea?

Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Mecole Hardman might be trying to tell people something.

Hardman tagged a Tweet with a video of himself catching a deep ball thrown by Justin Fields for a touchdown with Georgia, during the one season Justin Fields played for the Bulldogs.

It's being interpreted as an indication he'd like the chance to play with Fields again, and really, why else would Hardman do something like this?

Hardman had blazing 4.33-second speed in the 40 coming out of college, but his fit as a Bears receiver would be a real head scratcher and here's why:

@justnfields 👀👀👀 https://t.co/0ncBEmQlbz

— Mecole Hardman Jr. (@MecoleHardman4) March 9, 2023

1. Doesn't Fit the Offense

While Hardman's speed would be a welcome addition to any offense, he's anything but the prototype for the Luke Getsy attack.

The offense places a great emphasis on receivers who can be physical and block downfield. This isn't Hardman, who is listed at 5-10, 187. If this size is accurate, he's similar in size to Darnell Mooney (5-11, 173) but Mooney last year was regarded by Pro Football Focus as a top 25 run blocker among receivers. Perhaps the Tyke Tolbert and the Bears offense could get that quality out of Hardman, but at this point in his career it would have been apparent already.

2. Lack of Production

Hardman has played in an offense with Tyreek Hill and with Patrick Mahomes throwing him passes yet he has had more than 41 receptions just once, that in 2021 when he had 59 catches for 693 yards. He averages 37.5 catches a year. When he was a rookie, he averaged 20.7 yards per 26 receptions but since then hasn't been over 13.7 and last year averaged only 11.9 when the team was counting on him to be a replacement for Hill, who went to Miami in a trade.

In the case of Mecole Hardman Jr in Free Agency…. pic.twitter.com/eEElEAdqpL

— Rob O (@polskiguy81) March 9, 2023

3. Health

Hardman had been relatively free of injury until last year but missed nine games then and went on IR with an abdominal or core injury that required surgery. The Bears would need to be sure about his health before considering him. The Larry Ogunjobi situation last year should have taught them this much.

4. Special Teams

Hardman would be coming in vying for third receiver with Velus Jones, Equanimeous St. Brown and possibly a draft pick, not taking the spot Darnell Mooney or Chase Claypool have. He has never had the kind of catch production Mooney had when healthy, while Claypool is a different type receiver as a bigger X-type. 

To be a backup receiver, Hardman would need to be a return man. He hasn't been used much on returns since his rookie year, and never had production as good as Jones had as a kick returner even when he had a 104-yard return for a TD as a rookie. Since that season, Hardman averaged 18.6 yards a return. He had potential as a punt returner but hasn't done it much the last two seasons. He averaged 9.0 yards per 62 returns, all but 19 returns coming before his third season. Dante Pettis averaged 9.0 yards per return last year for the Bears.

5. Cost

The cost projected by Spotrac.com for Hardman would be $10.3 million. Pro Football Focus projects $7.5 million a year.

Hardman is ranked the 105th best free agent available by PFF and 66th best by CBS Sports.

If the Bears are going to throw that much money at an extra wide receiver who catches about 40 passes a year then for a little bit more they should consider D.J. Chark or Allen Lazard, who actually fit their offense as bigger receivers but also possess good speed.

The #Chiefs are "bracing to lose" WR Mecole Hardman in free-agency, per @JFowlerESPN

Hardman is one of the fastest players in the league and is expected to have a "sneaky good market" according to the report. pic.twitter.com/CCZIdoTTJX

— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) March 5, 2023

Twitter: BearDigest@BearsOnMaven