Mecole Hardman was a healthy scratch in Week 5, as his Jets tenure continues to disappoint so far. The wideout’s time in New York may soon be coming to an end as a result. 
ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reports the Jets are exploring their options with Hardman, which could include a trade. The former Pro Bowl returner has made just one catch this season, and his absence from the team’s offensive gameplans has been questioned by many. Hardman himself recently went public with his frustration about essentially being an afterthought with his new club.
“I’m probably the best in the league in space,” the 25-year-old said in advance of the Jets’ Week 5 win. “Maybe (the coaches) see something different. I’m just waiting for the opportunity to present itself. I think when I was in K.C., I proved that I was probably the most dangerous guy on the jet sweep, or whether it be on the end-around or on the screen, I think I proved year-out that I was that guy you had to worry about doing that.”
Hardman was a dangerous kick and punt returner during his four-year run in Kansas City, and he showed promise as at least a gadget player on offense. His best season came in 2021 when he posted 693 yards and a pair of touchdowns on 59 catches. Similar complimentary production was expected when he headed to New York on a one-year, $4MM deal.
Incentives in the pact provide a maximum value of $6MM, proving the expectations the Jets had for Hardman upon arrival. He, like former Packer Allen Lazard, was positioned to serve as a depth option in the passing game behind 2022 Offensive Rookie of the Year Garrett Wilson. With Aaron Rodgers‘ 2023 campaign having essentially ended before it began, though, the team’s offense has generally struggled to find a rhythm under quarterback Zach Wilson.
The Jets managed to move to 2-3 on the year with a win over the Broncos on Sunday, but their 407 yards of offense came in large part on the ground, and their success through the air came without Hardman in the lineup. Since he is on an expiring contract, teams in need of receiving help could be interested in a rental which would allow club and player to move on from a situation which has not gone according to plan.
Seahawks? Haha hell idk.
Hardman is a gadget player, granted, but I did think that the Jets could find some use for him. He is elusive and has great speed. I thought actually that he could be a better fit for Wilson as a YAC type player, but obviously that hasn’t happened.
Hardman is not the type of player who carry an offense or a WR corps, but it’d be harder to name a team that he wouldn’t add value to than to name one that he would. As long as a team has two guys ahead of Hardman to act as go-to starters (or, at least one true number one and a dependable tough catch guy), Hardman could be a valuable piece to add for YAC production and the occasional deep pass. Any team that can scheme open certain players reliably always can use guys like that.
There are a few teams who have their three or so guys set and for whom a trade, even a low value one, wouldn’t be worth it, but most could probably benefit in some way if Hardman were there, if he is affordable. Tennessee, for instance, is a team that goes to mind as one who could use a YAC complement to Hopkins. Their heavy use of play action makes that role more appealing as well (as evidenced by Spears’ strong debut). I could see Buffalo benefitting from such a move, if they were not rivals of the Jets, as Allen’s scrambling out of the pocket can loosen up defensive assignments and the extra speed helps with quick strike ability in a division with Miami. The Seahawks have had luck with these types of players in the past, have two starters, and are in the NFC (but have a prized rookie that for some reason is not seeing much impact, so the need is murky). There are others, but those just come to mind.
Hardman isn’t a player you need, but he’s definitely a player that you could use. He could be a good third piece type of player on most teams. It’ll be interesting to see if New York manages to move him, or if other teams will just wait it out.
Most FFGMs see Hardman as a WR when he was mainly a KR in Kansas City. The Jets aren’t using him as a KR because Xavier Gipson has that role.
Carl Lawson also was a healthy scratch in Denver but you don’t see him going diva since the defense is why the Jets have been competitive.
In K.C. Hardman was used as a tertiary or quaternary receiver, so he did have some offensive impact. You are correct that he does not have as big a role as was anticipated if not returning kicks. Hardman has a pretty specialized use set on offense, but it’s a use set that most teams could add tangent to their other receivers.
Possibly a band-aid for the Vikes while JJ is out?
Hardman would offer receiving help, but he is very different than Jefferson in terms of what he offers. This is not a direct comparison-obviously Jefferson is just overall better, but Hardman isn’t a contested catch or volume type receiver, which is the main thing that Minnesota loses of all of Jefferson’s many talents.
Now, if you mean that Hardman could be a good third option to support Osborne and Addison, that could be helpful. He would be great as a complement underneath in certain sets, even on Jefferson’s return, offering more speed than the Vikes’ top three options. Perhaps even more valuable, short passes to Hardman could help potentially with that area of the field that a good run game would normally attack. So, as far as on the field goes, he could work.The question would be, of course, how much Minnesota wants to ante up for a third/fourth receiver in a down season. If they do it, they could find ways to use him-Cousins is precise and smart enough to find him if they can scheme him open-but the cost would be the bigger consideration.
Denver trades for Hardman while trading Sutton to Minnesota.
I actually almost wrote that, but I didn’t want to put it into existence. Hardman is more like a lesser version of Jeudy (due to Jeudy’s superior route running ability-a talent that doesn’t matter much in Wilson’s traditional backyard offense, but is a huge help in Payton’s).
It would be a mistake, in my opinion, as Denver would be taking a net loss in losing a better receiver and then spending another pick for a lesser replacement. Sutton isn’t going to fetch a first or second round pick, which you would figure Denver would need for an impact player, and sending a fifth or sixth for Hardman might leave them with, say, a fourth and Hardman for losing Sutton. The Broncos have been a massive disappointment, but that’s just a huge loss to take for no reason other than frustration.
Still, even after saying all that, I think that it could happen. People like to make emotional reactions when they’re losing and want to tear it all down every time things don’t work, but that’s not always the best solution. Desperation makes teams do dumb things, though, and Denver could very easily talk themselves into thinking that Hardman is a satisfactory replacement for Sutton or Jeudy and pull the trigger.
The Eagles should be on the phone with the Jets right now. Take on that extra salary (4mil) to replace Quez Watkins (2.5m) immediately.
Not an upgrade.
He’s from Georgia I’m sure Philly already has him lined up
Good spots for him could be Seahawks Vikings Eagles or Giants. Giants need a burner now more than ever
I’m just so confused. The Eagles don’t need a 4th pass-catcher. They haven’t even gotten the top 3 involved consistently so far and Swift/OZ/Quez/Gainwell do the job fine as 4th options fighting for like 3 targets a game.
The counter argument is that Hardman could be a better jailbreak receiver than Watkins, but I agree that it isn’t really a need. The Eagles are a pretty complete team as is, or as close as one could reasonably get to one. On the other hand, Roseman is one of the NFL’s more aggressive GMs, especially when it comes to low compensation deals (in comparison to Les Snead, who’s never met a Day One or Two pick that he liked).
I could see Hardman fitting on the other teams mentioned, with the caveat that Seattle just selected a highly picked receiver and may want to try to feature him more (I will say that, in my opinion, Smith-Njiba features more as a first or second receiver than a third or fourth in terms of skillset). So, I would never count the Eagles completely out of a trade, as long as Roseman is there, but I don’t think that they necessarily need this.
Basically
Watkins isn’t that impressive and they barely use him. Imagine a deep threat like hardman who could open up brown and smith even more. And be a Deebo like weapon in the backfield like what he did in Kansas