The Chiefs got wide receiver Mecole Hardman on the field for the first time since trading up to draft him in the second round and his first impression could have been better.
Head coach Andy Reid called Hardman’s first attempt to run a dagger route “brutal,” but the rest of the three days of rookie minicamp left Reid with a better feeling.
“Every day he got a little better,” Reid said, via the Kansas City Star. “These are all new. These routes are new to him. He did a nice job in the red zone, which normally is the toughest place to work, but he did extremely well there. He had a good finish.”
The Chiefs moved up to get Hardman a day after the release of the Tyreek Hill audio that has cast his future with the team in serious doubt. Expecting Hardman to replace Hill would be asking too much, but the price paid to get him means Chiefs will expect him to contribute under any circumstances and continued growth along these lines will be essential to reaching that bar.