FRISCO – As we both analyze the Dallas Cowboys’ needs in free agency and pick through the sensible names about to hit the market, we continue to be confused as to why the club is so often linked with supplementary wide receivers.
Dont the Cowboys already have a room-full of those to partner with superstar CeeDee Lamb? Indeed, aren’t they in position to actually cut one of them loose in the form of Michael Gallup?
And yet the media parade continues, with Dallas being mentioned not only for top-tier guys like the Bucs’ Mike Evans (the expensive Texas native who would come here not as a Lamb afterthought but rather as a credentialed running mate) …
But also with Dallas being mentioned as a team that should sign …
Mecole Hardman?!
It’s USA Today that has compiled a list of free agent wide receivers that could help the Cowboys’ roster. And in fairness to the list, in addition to some silly names on it, the site mentions Mike Evans (and acknowledges the pipe dream) and mentions Cedrick Wilson (and bowing to reality lifts him No. 1 on its top-10 collection).
But outside of the fact that the Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver is being touted for his game-winning touchdown catch in the Super Bowl … we don’t get Hardman’s inclusion here … unless the list just wanted to make sure it included a nice round number like “10.”
At 5-10 and 187, Hardman is fast but small. The Cowboys have a vastly more accomplished player with those dimensions in Brandin Cooks.
Hardman seems like mostly a slot specialist … but that’s where the long-bodied Lamb does some of his best work.
USA Today applauds Hardman for being “young, fast, and gadget-like, making him an intriguing option for any offense wanting to ramp up their creativity.”
But Dallas already has that guy in All-Pro return man KaVontae Turpin.
Hardman’s value is such that pre-2023 the Chiefs let him free to sign with the New York Jets … and then the Jets gave up on him, trading him back to the Chiefs in October for a bag of magic beans.
That reunited him with quarterback Patrick Mahomes. … who spend the year making KC’s mediocre receivers crew look passable.
Is the real Hardman the guy who caught a TD pass in OT vs. the 49ers?
Or is it the guy who totaled 14 catches for 118 yards in six regular-season Chiefs games in 2023?
Or is it the pre-trade guy who gave the Jets just one catch for 6 yards?
The fact is, on paper, Hardman in a Cowboys uniform would have a difficult time getting any snaps. Which means we have a difficult time seeing his name playing any sort of prominent role in Dallas’ roster-building plan.