Patrick Mahomes praises Chiefs rookies Thompson, Hardman

By Bryan Perez | Aug 11, 2019

KANSAS CITY, MO - AUGUST 10: Mecole Hardman #17 of the Kansas City Chiefs catches a punt during pregame warm ups before a preseason game against the Cincinnati Bengals at Arrowhead Stadium on August 10, 2019 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Peter Aiken/Getty Images) /

Chiefs rookies Mecole Hardman and Darwin Thompson caught the eye of QB Patrick Mahomes in the team’s first preseason game against the Bengals.

The Kansas City Chiefs enjoyed a record-setting season by second-year QB Patrick Mahomes last season, and as if he wasn’t scary enough for opposing defensive coordinators, more juice was injected into his offense in the 2019 NFL draft with the selections of Mecole Hardman (WR, Georgia) and Darwin Thompson (RB, Utah State).

Both rookies were impressive in their preseason debut against the Bengals. They each scored a touchdowns on explosive plays that may have been a preview of things to come this fall.

Hardman caught two of his three targets for 31 yards and a 17-yard touchdown while Thompson carried the ball four times for 22 yards and scored on a 29-yard catch-and-run.

Thompson is especially one to watch as the summer progresses. The running back situation in Kansas City is suddenly unstable with veteran starter Damien Williams missing most of training camp with a bum hamstring and Carlos Hyde being, well, Carlos Hyde. Thompson may offer the Chiefs the most upside at this point, especially if he keeps making plays like he did against Cincinnati.

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“The talent is there of course,” Mahomes said of Thompson and Hardman. “You see it every single day. You see them go out there and they make special plays and we want them to understand exactly what to do each and every single day, and they are sort of picking it up faster and faster as it goes on.

“I’ve seen it from both Darwin and Mecole since the OTAs started of just kind of being out there at first and not really knowing what’s going on and then not making the same mistakes twice. When you get guys like that, that learn and that are in their playbooks and have that much talent, those are the special players in this league.”

The Chiefs drafted Hardman in the second round of April’s draft because of his fit in the offense. He brings the kind of speed coach Andy Reid loves to showcase. The pick made a ton of sense at the time because of Tyreek Hill‘s unknown status, but now that Hill’s avoided a suspension, the passing game’s field-flipping ability is unrivaled in the league.

Hardman didn’t produce gaudy numbers in college; he had just 35 catches for 543 yards and seven touchdowns in 2018. But he’s the perfect example of how the box score can lie; he was a victim of Georgia’s conservative passing game as well as the number of talented targets QB Jake Fromm had to choose from. He profiled as an early-round prospect all along.

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Thompson was drafted much later than Hardman — he was a sixth-round pick — but had the kind of production team’s value. He ran for 1,044 yards and 14 touchdowns while averaging an impressive 6.8 yards per carry in 2018. He slipped in the draft because of his size; he checked-in at just 5’8, 200 pounds at the NFL combine.

Both rookies figure to play a significant role for a Chiefs team that has Super Bowl aspirations in 2019.