What Is the Kansas City Chiefs’ Plan at Wide Receiver This Year and Beyond?
On Wednesday afternoon, news broke that the Kansas City Chiefs were trading for their former second-round pick, Mecole Hardman. After four seasons in Kansas City, Hardman signed with the New York Jets on a one-year deal. However, after playing only 28 offensive snaps in New York, the former Chief is on his way back to Kansas City.
The possibility of trading for a wide receiver had been a hot topic of conversation and while this deal probably puts the discussion to bed, it's a short-term band-aid for a long-term problem.
The Chiefs already had a cluster of players who would be the third or fourth receiver on most teams. Offensive coordinator Matt Nagy has talked in his press conferences about how the coaching staff is still figuring out what they have at the wideout position. Adding Hardman is another player with a comparable skill level to the top snap-getters, Marquez Valdes-Scanting, Skyy Moore and Justin Watson. Though Hardman is close to those guys, he adds a skill that should bring value to the Chiefs' offense for the rest of the season: elite speed.
When building the wide receiver room for the 2023 season, the Chiefs lacked the true speedster that had been part of the equation in the past. Valdes-Scantling and Watson are deep threats, but both are slow burners who take time to reach their top speed. Hardman has actual 4.2 speed and can get on top of defenders instantly. That speed and acceleration will threaten the defense both vertically and horizontally. Early in his career, the Chiefs used Hardman as a vertical deep threat before transitioning him to primarily a horizontal stretch "gadget" player later in his first stint in Kansas City. With the organization making a move for Hardman, one should assume they have a vision for his usage, and it probably begins with maximizing his speed to stretch the defense.
Hardman did walk out of the building this offseason on a relatively cheap deal, so clearly the Chiefs' front office didn't see him as a part of their long-term future. They shifted to an almost entirely youth movement with the wide receiving corps. Rashee Rice, Kadarius Toney, Justyn Ross, and Moore were all 24 years old or younger entering the season and had a combined three seasons of NFL experience. The idea was that the experience and reps in the regular season would help accelerate growth for those young players and then pay dividends in the postseason in a big way. Shifting away from that approach would raise more questions than answers it provides.
Rice has been a significant positive thus far, shining in his role and developing rapport with Patrick Mahomes. Toney has been underwhelming while working back from his share of injuries, but there is evidence of his ability to show up when the lights are the brightest. Ross has flashed his talent but has played very sparingly. While disappointing so far, Moore may be better if put into a reduced role now that Rice has proven to be a real player. The approach of betting on the young talent hasn't looked good up to this part of the season, but as with any young players, there will be ups and downs. Reducing those snaps for a guy that you felt was expendable six months ago would be head-scratching.
Long-term, the Chiefs need to find a difference-maker to be a reliable guy each game. It may become Rice, Ross or Toney, but the best plan of action is to attack wide receiver in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft. Those young players can be the complements to the alpha receiver the team hopes to find in the draft.
The 2024 wide receivers project to be an incredible group of talent. It may be more talented than the recently loaded 2020 and 2022 wide receiver classes. The Chiefs hope to own the 32nd overall pick in the draft because they won the Super Bowl. If they want to move up to get "their guy" out of the group, they should do so with conviction, as the draft is their best opportunity to get that true difference maker and a top 20 receiver in the league. Plus, if you hit big, you get that player on a cheap contract for potentially five years, which helps with future team-building and asset allocation.
At this point, the best plan of action for the Chiefs is to work Hardman in spots where they know he can add to the offense. Hopefully, it allows them to shift things around and gives the young weapons — specifically Rice — more opportunities and the chance to take a step forward this season. That would be a plan to see what the team has in the young talent, revisit the situation in the offseason, then make more significant improvements.
