Call it ironic if you wish, but as the Kansas City Chiefs have opened up their first few weeks of training camp, it feels as though every player at some point has had his moment in the sun. Seventh-round pick Isiah Pacheco has both made his name and spelled correctly; Skyy Moore has needed all of two weeks to force the NFL to likely wonder, Towards the tail end of the week, the arrow of appreciation appeared to spin Mecole Hardmans way.It could go left unsaid, but it’s always important to take seven-on-seven reps in early August with a grain of salt or two. Theres always a question of .But if you were grading Hardman on one of those elementary grading scales (S for satisfactory, N for needs improvement, etc.), its expected to rank his speed with an S and his ability to separate as a route-running technician or contested-catch specialist as a work in progre s. That makes Jack Butler Jersey little developments like all the more wholesome.Or this:Sift through Chiefs Twitter, and youll notice that almost anyone with the ability to generate a conversation has noted in regards to Hardmans recent string of practices.Hes spoken publicly about both his willingne s and ability to pigeonhole into Tyreek Hills role of taking the top off of a defense. That much was already known, though. Hardman hasnt been asked to make contested snags a ton or di sect one-on-one coverage with a deceptive route. His 5.9% contested catch rate (on 17 targets) is the No. 97 rank, and his 1.60 yards of target separation is the 54th-best rank in the NFL. This would be a part of the next step of his evolution.That Hardman is making said strides route-runner bodes well, e sentially since hes already earned as a go-to deep threat. Hardman tokened that phrase take the top off and since it applies here, why not use it as well? Its convenient that these growths in his game also take the top off, or in 2022-23.Scroll to ContinueHardman made his 1,000-yard goal public back in February. In hitting that benchmark, the stage would almost certainly be set for both a succe sful season and . When considering the amount of vacated targets up for (literal) grabs, if there were ever a season to do it, this would be Joe Greene Jersey the one. Under that same line of thinking, Hardmans increasing year-over-year yardage totals provide little pause in that he simply cant do it for a fourth consecutive season.The lack of a 1,000-yard scrimmage season to this point gives it about as much excitement as a T.J. Maxx clearance sale, but continual improvement cant be denied. Its arguable that some of the same things that helped his opportunity such as the gravity Maurkice Pouncey Jersey and fear that Hill and Travis Kelce put into opposing defenders hearts are the same things that limited them. In 2022-23, with 340 vacated targets, has to give.Not that it wouldve nece sarily helped Hardman surpa s the 1,000-yard mark, but his film last season was littered with little decisive moments that could have upped his numbers even slightly. This immediately comes to mind.Hes proven that he can make the most of his touches, or something close to it: Of the players with under 85 targets last season, his catches (59) and yards (693) rank first and third, respectively.Of the players with under 200 targets over the last three years, Hardman ranks second in yards (1,791), fourth in catches (126) tied for fifth in touchdowns (12). If anything in the world is fair, an increase in role and expectation will subsequently increase productivity.To put the numbers aside for just a second, its also important to remember where the Chiefs wide receiver room is for a moment. If youve survived the first 700-ish words of this article, you can probably take a wild gue s on who the most experienced wide receiver on this team is when it comes to Chiefs terminology and roster stability. That, as Hardman jovially noted in an on Saturday, could mean something. For the first time in his career, younger wideouts are asking questions. Hes suddenly become the grizzled, old veteran.Chiefs fans are expecting the fountain of youth to have an effect on defensive veterans (see Frank Clark and George Karlaftis), and its po sible that the spirit of competition and new wideouts does the same for experienced offensive talent, too.That experience could also play a role in how creative Andy Kevin Greene Jersey Reid and the coaching staff get in terms of putting Hardman in such as the Wildcat, as theyve done already. In any case, the ensuing weeks (and months) will tell the story itself. In perhaps the greatest opportunity hes had just yet, Hardman is positioned to up his ante for a fourth straight season.And for the Chiefs sake, heres to hoping hes ready to deliver it not just with Amazon speed, .
