The Kansas City Chiefs are currently heading to the Super Bowl, and won’t need to worry about the offseason until February. However, for the fantasy football world, everyone is keeping an eye on the Chiefs’ prolific offense.
We already know how good Patrick Mahomes is. Same with Travis Kelce, and Tyreek Hill. I mean, even Clyde Edwards-Helaire has tremendous potential. All four players will be drafted early in next year’s fantasy football drafts. However, there is one more player that could be in for a huge year, and that’s Mecole Hardman.
This season, Hardman put up 560 receiving yards and four touchdowns off of 41 receptions. With a 66.1 completion percentage, Mahomes seems to have enjoyed throwing the ball to Hardman this season.
Currently, Hardman sits as the third wide receiver on the depth chart. He’s been more involved this season in comparison to his rookie year. Additionally, Hardman has the speed and athleticism to take it to the house on every play. Here is why Hardman is a potential fantasy football breakout player for the 2021 season.
A Move Up the Depth Chart?
The Chiefs are stacked, and with that, means the organization has little room in cap space (projected minus $18 million for 2021). This coming offseason, both Sammy Watkins and Demarcus Robinson are set to hit the free-agent market. These are two WRs who have consistently taken snaps/targets away from Hardman.
It’s not likely Watkins or Robinson come back next year. This opens up the opportunity for Hardman to become a legitimate WR2 on a high-powered Chiefs offense. Considering all eyes will be on Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelce in the passing game, Mahomes may be able to find Hardman open more often than not. This alone makes Hardman a must-draft candidate in fantasy football next year.
Year 3 is a Breakout Year for Wide Receivers
Another reason to believe 2021 is Hardman’s year, is that top WRs in the NFL typically break out in their third season. A few notable players who have broken out in their third year are Terrell Owens, Steve Smith Sr., and Chad (Ochocinco) Johnson. Hardman has the potential to join that prominent list.
Between moving up the depth chart, continuously building chemistry with Patrick Mahomes, and Hardman’s big-play-making abilities, it’s easy to see the light at the end of the tunnel. If everything goes smoothly, Hardman has the potential to break the top 20 for fantasy football wide receivers.
Potential Fantasy Football Draft Value
Hardman wasn’t the most consistent WR in fantasy football this year. According to Fantasy Pros, he finished 61st in PPR formats. After only averaging eight fantasy points per game, he ended up with just 128.1 total points.
Considering he was the third WR on the Cheifs depth chart, Hardman still finished with better fantasy numbers than Sammy Watkins and Demarcus Robinson. Most people had Mecole Hardman pegged as a late-round sleeper pick for 2020. At the end of the day though, he was only useful for Best-Ball leagues.
Even so, Hardman has the potential to finish within the top 20 of fantasy football wide receivers. To put it in perspective, that was where players like Marvin Jones Jr., Robby Anderson, and Terry McClaurin ended this season. To reach that potential, Hardman would have to score at least 100 more fantasy points than he did this year.
Although Hardman has all of the potential in the world, he’s still going to be drafted a bit later in fantasy drafts. The amount of great WRs in the NFL right now is insane, and it’s only getting better with another stacked WR class in the NFL draft.
With that said, I’m projecting Mecole Hardman to be drafted somewhere between rounds 8-10 in fantasy drafts next season. If that’s the case, you should be able to load up your fantasy football team, then take Hardman as a fantastic mid-draft selection. You could have a real opportunity to take the steal of the draft in 2021.
