HEADLINES

Mecole Hardman

Jets Tried To Trade Up For Mecole Hardman

April 29th, 2019 at 11:48am CST by Zachary Links

The Jets did not fortify their wide receiver group in the draft, but that was not by design. The Jets had their eye on Georgia wide receiver Mecole Hardman, Manish Mehta of the Daily News (on Twitter) hears, but the Chiefs beat them to the punch. 

[RELATED: Grading The Jets’ Draft]

Apparently, the Jets were ready to pull the trigger on a trade with the Eagles that would have allowed them to grab Hardman at No. 57 overall, but the Chiefs beat them to the punch by moving up to the No. 56 pick. The Chiefs now have the speedster as a potential replacement for Tyreek Hill, who is expected to be released any moment now. Meanwhile, the Jets are left to sift through what remains of the wide receiver market to find support for Quincy Enunwa, Robby Anderson, and Jamison Crowder.

The Jets also explored moving up to the top of the second round to get in on cornerback run, but they found the asking price to be too steep. They eventually took a cornerback in the sixth-round when they plucked oft-injured Rutgers corner Blessuan Austin from about 30 minutes down I-95.

Rams Deal No. 56 Pick To Chiefs

April 26th, 2019 at 7:55pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Chiefs will make their first pick of the 2019 draft, moving up five spots via the Rams. Los Angeles will collect a fifth-round pick (No. 167) to move back five spots at the end of Round 2.

Kansas City’s pick at No. 56 appears to indicate, as should be expected, Tyreek Hill will soon be out of the picture. The Chiefs chose Georgia wideout/return man Mecole Hardman, who zoomed to a 4.33-second 40-yard dash time this offseason.

It has not been a good week for Kansas City, but the team still does feature one of the league’s best rosters. It’s interesting the Chiefs did not use this pick on their defense, which still has holes, but Hill’s latest ugly off-field chapter created a major need at receiver.

Hardman caught 35 passes for 543 yards last season. He will likely be tabbed to develop and possibly step in for one of the NFL’s best players, one who has encountered more legal trouble and is likely soon to be a former Chief.

If/once Hill is waived, it will mark a rather astounding reboot for Kansas City’s offense. Both Hill and Kareem Hunt were integral parts of the Chiefs’ loaded 2018 skill-position corps. Kansas City brought in Carlos Hyde to help stabilize the post-Hunt backfield; Hardman appears to be a key component of the post-Hill equation at wide receiver.