The Green Bay Packers strengthened at wide receiver this offseason, drafting Matthew Golden and Savion Williams and signing free agent Mecole Hardman to a one-year, $1.5 million deal.
Green Bay currently has 13 wide receivers battling for a roster spot. However, it is clear that the team will not carry that many players on their final roster. That could already mean the end for Hardman, as one prediction leaves the veteran on the outside looking in when the roster is finalized.
Gary Davenport of Bleacher Report predicted that he will not make the Packers' final 53-man roster.
"Based on his performance in Green Bay's preseason opener, though, Hardman could start the 2025 season looking for work. After a performance that included a key drop and a muffed punt, the 27-year-old told reporters he wasn't going to let one shaky outing rattle him," writes Davenport. "But Hardman has never come especially close to living up to his draft slot. And on a Packers team loaded with young talent at wide receiver, he has no margin to make the sort of errors he made in his Green Bay debut."
Mecole Hardman's Packers departure now feels inevitable
Hardman has spent most of his career with the Kansas City Chiefs after the franchise selected him in the second round of the 2019 NFL Draft. In his six-season career, he has recorded 2,302 receiving yards and 16 touchdowns on 178 receptions while adding 190 rushing yards and three touchdowns on 26 carries.
He has also contributed on special teams, adding 1,073 kick return yards and one touchdown on 45 returns and 819 punt return yards and one touchdown on 89 returns. Hardman earned Pro Bowl honors and was named a second-team All-Pro as a rookie for his work in the return game.
Hardman had a better showing in the Packers' second preseason game, as he caught two passes for 27 yards, while adding a 10-yard punt return. Despite his improved performance, he is still considered a long shot to make Green Bay's final roster.
In addition to Golden and Williams, Jayden Reed, Romeo Doubs, and Dontayvion Wicks are roster locks. Watson is expected to begin the season on the PUP list.
Meanwhile, Reed is listed as the Packers' punt returner while two-time All-Pro returner Keisean Nixon remains the kick returner. The Packers have competition at both spots, but Hardman has been unable to secure the return duties at camp.
With Hardman owed just $150,000 in guaranteed money, his path to the roster is murky, at best.