One of the biggest storylines around the Chiefs during the regular season was their issues finding reliable wide receivers for Patrick Mahomes and that was part of the reason why they brought Mecole Hardman back in mid-October.
Hardman spent his first four seasons with the Chiefs and left as a free agent during the 2023 offseason, but he fell out of the Jets lineup before being traded back to Kansas City. He had minimal contributions in the regular season and lost a fumble out of the end zone in the divisional round against the Bills, but the Chiefs didn’t shy away from going his way in Super Bowl LVIII.
That decision paid off for them. Hardman had a 52-yard catch in the second quarter of the game and then came up with the game-winning touchdown in overtime on a three-yard pass from quarterback Patrick Mahomes. After the game, Mahomes praised his teammate for staying prepared despite all the twists and turns of his season.
“I don’t know if it was so this week; I’ve played with Mecole for a long time,” Mahomes said at his press conference. “He’s always ready for the moment, and he’s someone that continues to practice hard and get better. And obviously, that receiver rotation, we were bouncing around a lot of guys all year long, and those guys just continue to work. Just like the last Super Bowl, you never know who it’s gonna be, but it’s about everybody being ready for the moment and he was he was ready for that moment in a couple big plays.”
Hardman acknowledged the difficulties of his season during his own session with the media, but said he wouldn’t “want it any other way” given the way things played out in the end. The Chiefs likely share that sentiment.
