Hardman lives in end zone vs. 49ers

Chiefs WR Mecole Hardman scored 3 times among just 6 touches in Sunday's win over the 49ers. He found the end zone on both of his carries, from 25 and 13 yards out. Hardman also took a "pop" pass in from 8 yards out. That was 1 of 4 catches for 32 yards on 4 targets. Hardman did lead all Chiefs wideouts in playing time, seeing his 2nd most snaps and 2nd-largest snap share of the season. He still trailed JuJu Smith-Schuster and Marquez Valdes-Scantling in routes, though. The playing-time boost -- to 62% vs. 40-46% over the previous 3 games -- was likely matchup-driven to some degree. Hardman has seen 4-5 targets in 3 straight games, though, and 4-6 in 5 of 7 games for the season. We'll see whether there's any word from the Chiefs on offensive alterations coming out of the Week 8 bye.

The Chiefs activated WR Mecole Hardman (thumb) from IR, setting him up to play vs. the Bengals on Sunday. Hardman will add some depth to Kansas City's WR corps but isn't a realistic fantasy play. He averaged 2.5 targets, 2.0 catches, and 10 receiving yards across four games with the Chiefs earlier this season.

The Chiefs placed WR Mecole Hardman (thumb) on IR, knocking him out for at least the next four games. He can be dropped from all redraft rosters. Hardman has totaled 10 targets in four games since re-joining the Chiefs, so his absence leaves just a little extra work behind for TE Travis Kelce and Kansas City's mess of other WRs.

Chiefs WR Mecole Hardman (thumb) is out for Sunday's game vs. the Raiders. He's totaled 10 targets in four games since re-joining the Chiefs, so there's minimal fantasy impact here.

The Jets traded WR Mecole Hardman to the Chiefs in exchange for a swap of late-round picks in 2025, ESPN's Adam Schefter reports. Hardman signed a one-year, $4 million deal with the Jets in free agency this offseason -- and wound up catching one pass for the team. Now he heads back to the team he spent his first four NFL seasons with. Hardman was largely disappointing with the Chiefs but did average 4.7 targets, 3.4 catches, and 40 yards per game across the 2021 and 2022 campaigns. Kansas City's 2023 WR corps has been completely underwhelming and just lost Justin Watson to an elbow injury. Expect to see Hardman step into a significant role rather quickly, although he's still unlikely to be an asset to fantasy football teams. He's only worth grabbing in very deep leagues.

Jets WR Mecole Hardman is a healthy scratch for today's game vs. the Broncos. Hopefully you weren't counting on him. Hardman has one catch through four games.