The Jets have added another name player to their wideout room with the signing of unrestricted free agent Mecole Hardman, who has a pair of Super Bowl rings from his four seasons with Kansas City.
Hardman (5-10, 187) was a standout WR at Georgia for two seasons. He sped to a 4.33-second 40 at the 2019 NFL Combine before being drafted in the second round (56th overall) of that year's draft by the Chiefs.
In his 57 regular-season games (26 starts), he had steady production with four-year receiving totals of 151 catches, 2.088 yards (13.7 yards/catch) and 16 touchdowns. He also rushed for two TDs, both last season.
Jets fans will recall Hardman taking a shovel pass 30 yards and weaving his way untouched through the defense for the first of Patrick Mahomes' five touchdown passes in the Chiefs' 35-9 home win over the Jets in 2020. Hardman's line for that game: nine targets, seven catches, 96 yards.
Hardman also reached the playoffs four times and played in 10 postseason games for the Chiefs, with 22 more receptions for 226 yards and two TDs. He started in KC's Super Bowl LIV win over San Francisco (and then-defensive coordinator Robert Saleh). Last year he came off of Injured Reserve from a midseason abdominal injury to help Kansas City defeat Cincinnati in the AFC Championship Game but aggravated the injury against the Bengals and was inactive for the Super Bowl LVII triumph over the Eagles.
Hardman has also been a dangerous kick returner, although he did less returning the past two years than in his first two NFL seasons. He reeled off a 104-yard kickoff return touchdown against the Chargers as a rookie in 2019 and the next season creased the Dolphins' punt cover unit for a 67-yard TD return at Miami. For his career he has averaged 9.0 yards on 62 punt returns and 23.8 on 39 kickoff returns.
Totaling up Hardman's scores, regular season plus playoffs, he has scored 23 touchdowns four different ways — 18 receiving, three rushing and one each on punt and kickoff returns.
