This off season the Green Bay Packers signed WR & Return Specialist, Mecole Hardman to a 1 year, $1.5 million prove it deal. You can see the full details of his contract via Spotrac below.
Mecole Hardman Green Bay Packers Deal
With all the buzz (and deservedly so) around the Packers selection of WR Matthew Golden in Round 1 of the 2025 NFL Draft, I think people are looking past a sneaky good signing to a veteran wideout with 3 Super Bowl rings to his name.
Today I take a deep dive on this dynamic player who could absolutely have a big impact on the Packers this season.
Mecole Hardman Origins
Carey Mecole Hardman was born March 12th, 1998 in Bowman, GA to parents Mecole Hardman Sr. and Latrivia Danyell. He was child 5 of 6 with two older brothers, two older sisters, as well as one younger sister.
High School Years
Hardman followed in his father’s footsteps while attending Elbert County High School showing his standout abilities immediately. Hardman’s father Mecole Sr. broke numerous running back records and was offered a scholarship to Savannah State. However, he opted to join the Navy instead, saying he was not focused on football.
Mecole Jr. on the other hand was dialed in and it showed as he would go on to be a 5 star recruit. He would eventually commit to a familiar breeding ground for Packers players circa the University of Georgia.
Take a look below at Mecole’s top 5 plays while sporting the Blue Devil gear.
Georgia Bulldogs Career
Mecole was a major breakout star during his time in Georgia. Which is saying something as he shared the offense with NFL RB D’Andre Swift, and was still pulling eyes in his direction.
Here’s a summary of his college career stats via Wikipedia.
Mecole Hardman – Georgia Bulldogs
Wide Reciver:
60 receptions for 961 yards and 11 touchdowns.
Return Specialist:
39 punt returns for 592 yards and a touchdown
35 kick returns for 875 yards.
He said the following to The Athletic after his Sophmore year:
““I’m natural with the ball in my hands. I’ve been doing it my whole life, I don’t think it came as any surprise that I’m where I’m at right now.”
After his Junior season he decided to enter the 2019 NFL draft.
Check out the video below for Mecole’s college highlights:
Kansas City Bound
The Kansas City Chiefs drafted Mecole with pick 56 in the 2nd round of the 2019 NFL Draft. For context these were the 4 wideouts taken before him in that class:
- Marquise Brown: Pick 25
- N’Keal Harry: Pick 32
- Deebo Samuel: Pick 36
- A.J. Brown: Pick 51
Take a listen to a young Mecole Hardman talking about his transition to the NFL coming into training camp back in 2019.
A Stacked Field
To put things in persepctive, it’s important to remember that in 2019 when Mecole joined the Chiefs, these were other mouths being fed by Patrick Mahomes:
Tyreek Hill
Sammy Watkins
Travis Kelce
Demarcus Robinson
To say his odds were stacked against him to see playing time is an understatement. That didn’t stop him however from doing just what he did in Georgia.
Come in clutch and grab the attention.
Year 1
In his first year with the Chiefs Hardman recorded 538 receiving yards and 6 touchdowns. He also had 41 receptions on 64 targets, averaging 20.7 yards per reception. Additionally, he contributed 17 rushing yards on 4 carries. His versatility and return specialty was on full display as a rookie including a 104 yard touchdown return. He also led wideouts acroos the NFL that year in yards after catch averaging 11.8 yards per.
Hardman was named All Pro and selected for the Pro Bowl as return specialist in his debut season, and would cap it off with his first ring after the Chiefs won Super Bowl LIV.
Year 2
In 2020 during his sophmore outing Hardman racked up 41 recptions for 560 yards as well as 31 rushing yards. More importantly he recorded 132 kickoff return yards and 203 punt return yards. Those included a 67 yard punt return for a touchdown in Week 14 against the Dolphins. The Chiefs would ultimately go on to lose to Tampa Bay in Super Bowl LIVI.
Year 3
In 2021 Mecole started all 17 games with 59 catches for 693 yards and 2 touchdowns. He also handled the bulk of punt return duties finding his niche with his speed and agility. He went on to score a touchdown in both the Divsional Round and AFC Championship games.
Year 4
In the final year of his first run with the Chiefs Hardman recorded 25 receptions for 297 yards and 4 touchdowns. He saw a drop in punt return production with only 4 returns netting 21 yards. In Week 7 however, he became the only wide receiver in the Super Bowl era to get 2 rushing touchdowns and 1 receiving touchdown in the same game against the 49ers.
Tragically, Hardman’s momentum was cut short as he was placed on IR in Week 9 with an abdominal injury. He returned in January for the AFC Championship, however he reaggravated his injury and would sit on the sidelines to watch his Chiefs team beat the Eagles in Super Bowl LIVII.
Jets-Lagged & Not in Kansas Anymore….
Mecole would head to free agency ahead of the 2023 season. The Chiefs had picked up MVS from the Packers who lined up along Travis Kelce, Rashee Rice, Skyy Moore, and Kadarius Toney. Hardman would eventually be picked up by the New York Jets as a solid speedy veteran addition to bolster the squad with newly acquired QB Aaron Rodgers.
WIth only 1 reception over 5 games he was eventually benched in favor of emerging rookie talents, including Xavier Gipson who would take on the majority of the punt return duties.
Hardman would go on to request a trade mid season amid frustrations around his role with the team. Here’s a clip I pulled from The Pivot Podcast where Mecole addresses the issue directly.
Homeward Bound
In mid October of 2023 Mecole would be traded back to the Chiefs and would go on to record 118 receiving yards.
That season would culminate with Hardman’s 3rd Super Bowl victory after catching the game winning touchdown in overtime of Super Bowl LIVIII against the 49ers. Here he is talking through that play on Jimmy Kimmel Live:
One Final Run
In 2024 Mecole Hardman would enter free agency and eventually re-sign with the Chiefs on a team friendly 1 year deal. However, in December of last year, injury would once again sideline Hardman. He was placed on IR after injuring his knee.
Prior to the injury he served as their primary punt returner totalling 335 return yards. Mecole also recorded 12 catches for 90 yards, along with 62 rushing yards and 1 rushing touchdown.
Mecole would end up sitting out the remainder of the 2024 campaign.
Welcome To Green Bay Mecole Hardman!
Regardless of injury or bad blood with Green Bay East (NY Jets), I see nothing but amazing upside to bringing this versatile player to the squad.
You have an immediate day 1 return specialist which frees up Nixon and Jayden Reed from splitting duties. His versatility also allows him to plug and play in various offensive schemes.
Also, remarkably, after appearing in 4 Superbowls Hardman is only 27 years old. If he is able to stay on the field, he certainly has plenty left in the tank.
Setting The Standard
Mecole has already made his presence known at OTAs with the 74 yard touchdown bomb heard round the world from Jordan Love. Here’s a great post put out by Bill Huber.
I also recently asked Aaron Nagler of Cheesehead TV if he thought Mecole was being slept on. Here’s what he had to say:
I certainly expect some serious competition in the wideout room during training camp. I am excited to see who the starting set is going to be, but I would be surprised if it wasn’t Jayden Reed, Romeo Doubs, and Matthew Golden.
There’s a lot to be excited about with the signing of a 27 year old Pro Bowler with 3 rings that can bring that championship mentality and standard to a very young locker room. We will just have to wait until them pads come on to see where the chips fall.
Welcome to Green Bay Mecole Hardman, and Go Pack Go!
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