The Kansas City Chiefs reshuffled the wide receivers room this offseason, trading Tyreek Hill to Miami and seeing Byron Pringle and Demarcus Robinson leave in free agency. The AFC West champs then signed JuJu Smith-Schuster and Marquez Valdes-Scantling in free agency and drafted Skyy Moore in the second round of the draft.
The lone main holdover from the top of last year's corps is Mecole Hardman. His experience in the system sets up Hardman for potentially a more significant role in his fourth season. But the boost in profile doesn't weigh on the 24-year-old.
"I don't feel no pressure," he said Tuesday, via Herbie Teope of the Kansas City Star. "I just think it's one of those things, it's like a next-man-up mentality. As far as like pressure-wise, I really don't feel it. I think it's just me having to step up and be a better overall player than I've been the last three years. I don't feel no pressure."
In three seasons, Hardman has caught 126 passes for 1,791 yards and 12 touchdowns. He earned career highs with 59 catches for 693 yards last season, adding two scores. However, inconsistency has plagued the young pass catcher, who has had chances to bust out in K.C.
With Hill exiting, Hardman has a chance to take on a more prominent role. The combo of Smith-Schuster, MVS, Hardman and Moore give the Chiefs offense weapons to win in myriad ways, particularly over the middle and on intermediate routes.
Hardman said that, with Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce leading the way, K.C. would remain one of the most difficult offenses in the NFL.
"I think we're going to be explosive," Hardman said. "I think we're going to be a great offense. We still have the best quarterback in the NFL, the best tight end in the NFL, so we're going to lean on those guys, we're going to depend on them, and we know they're going to come to play every Sunday.
"With the new guys, I think they're adjusting very well. They're learning the plays, they're learning the playbook, learning how we play here and the standard that we got here, so I think we're going to be just fine."
