Prove it! – by Phillip Maxwell
A woman goes into a bar and sees a Cowboy with the biggest feet she had ever seen. She asks the Cowboy if the old saying about men with big feet is indeed true, and he replies, “Yes mam, it is, and I will prove it.”
After going back to his place that evening, The woman awakes the following day, and after clearing her head, the lady hands him a 100-dollar bill. The Cowboy says, “Well, shucks Mam. I am truly flattered.” Then, with a smirk on her face, she wryly replies, “Don’t be! That money is for you to buy a pair of boots that fit!”
The Chiefs have a laundry list of players that could, in some cases, need to prove themselves this coming 2022 season….make the shoes fit.
Mecole Hardman
Mecole tops this list due to the glaringly obvious. All eyes are on this young man out of Georgia to fill the shoes of arguably one of the most dynamic receivers in this modern-day NFL, Tyreek Hill.
Unless you have been living in a cave on the remote island of Tristan Da Cunha, you are probably aware that Tyreek Hill was traded in the offseason to the Miami Dolphins. #*@#!
Hardman was touted as the fastest rookie to emerge from the 2019 NFL Draft, and the last remaining member of the Kansas City Chiefs often feared “Legion of Zoom,” which consisted of T Hill, S Watkins, and of course M Hardman. As the last man of that illustrious group that is still standing, it has been bequeathed to Hardman to take the wheel of this Ferrari and try not to crash and burn.
Hardman’s route running abilities have come under scrutiny by some, but my biggest concern is his lack of QB awareness when the initial call gets wrecked by an aggressive Pass Rush. Hardman seems to get completely lost at times during these situations. I mean, not like Dee Ford, running in circles lost, but he definitely needs to work on putting himself in a better situation to help his QB move the chains.
Hardman had this to say about the opportunity that is right in front of him.
“A once-in-a-generation type of player has left the team. Somebody’s got to step up and fill a role. … I want to be better than I was last year, get better as an overall receiver, kind of establish my name a little bit more. Catching the ball, running routes, yards after catch, everything I’m trying to improve on.”
Well, Mecole, you are entering a contract year, you have the best QB in the NFL throwing in your direction, and the organization that saw potential in you back in 2019 and took a chance on you, and we need you to step up and live up to the hype.
No pressure, though, Mecole! (Just Sayin’).
JuJu Smith-Schuster
If you go back a few years, before Ben Roethlisberger’s arm became a total limp noodle, JuJu was his go-to guy in a very aggressive and talented offense.
Some of you might remember Patrick’s first season as a starter, and the Chiefs traveled to Pittsburgh in what turned out to be a shootout for the ages. A game in which a final score of Chiefs 42 Steelers 37 tells just part of the story.
The Steelers found themselves down 21 zip early on, but they came back and tied it up 21-21. They did this by Roethlisberger and Smith-Schuster taking the game into their own hands. Smith-Schuster ended the day with 121 yards on 13 receptions and a score. He has proven in the past that he can be that guy.
The last two seasons have played out much differently. JuJu-type numbers have taken a hit, and his stock has dropped. I’m aware that this could be a much-debated opinion, but I believe that the Steelers playing down to Ben’s limited abilities the past two years has played a more prominent role in JuJu’s decline.
2022 is just a one-year signing by the Chiefs. It is ultimately yet another contract year for Smith-Schuster. I don’t believe there was a better opportunity anywhere outside of Kansas City for JuJu to revive his career. Again, like Hardman, he has the league’s best QB looking in his direction, and a nasty NFL comeback is his for the taking.
Juan Thornhill
Juan took huge strides in proving he deserves to be out there in a starter role for the Chiefs after taking over for Daniel Sorenson late last season. Thornhill is at the tail end of a 4-year deal and seems hyped to prove that he has completely healed from an unfortunate ACL injury that still seemed to leave him less than 100% once he returned to play.
That seemed to change late last season when he admirably stepped into Sorenson’s place on the field and shored up what was proving to be a weak link in the secondary. Here is the thing, though: it was only a small sample for a short time, and I think it will require seeing him play at that level for an entire full season to solidify his place in the Chief’s secondary beyond this season.
“The best I’ve felt in a long time,” says Thornhill.
It’s a contract year for Juan, and he will have the hot rookie Bryan Cook breathing down his neck to try and take his playing time….this would be the perfect time for Thornhill to prove it.
Josh Gordan
The fact that Josh Gordan didn’t get shown the door last season is a testament to how much potential the Chiefs coaching staff must see in him. For the record, I’m not seeing it—quite the contrary.
Outside of one phenomenal season way back in the olden days of 2013 when Josh put up 1,646 yards and nine touchdowns, the rest of his career has been Snoresville. Last year, it never seemed like Josh could get comfortable in Reid’s offense, and it showed on the stat line. 37 yards on 5 receptions with 14 targets is bad. No, let me rephrase that: It was, actually, really bad. As bad as that was though, it was still more productive than anything Gehrig Dieter accomplished as a Chief, who managed to hang around even longer than Gordon has. I’m often confused by some of these moves.
There is no guarantee Josh will even make the 53-man roster, but the idea of him possibly being able to repeat 2013 must be tempting to the coaching staff for them to still be keeping him around. Time to prove them right, Josh.
Clyde Edwards-Helaire
I believe Clyde will enter the season starting in the backfield, but the big question on everyone’s mind is will he hold onto it. Unfortunately, it is safe to say that Clyde hasn’t lived up to “first round” status.
Honestly, the Chiefs had no business taking him in the first round. First, they could have most likely still had the opportunity in the 3rd round with Swift and Taylor still on the boards. Second, Xavier McKinney would have been a much wiser decision. Oh well…shoulda’ coulda’!
Nonetheless, this kind of feels like a prove-it year for Clyde. The problem is, this also feels like a prove-it year for Jones and Gore…and then throw in the young rookie Pacheco who would love to prove his worth.
So, these are the five guys that I think have the most to prove this season for various reasons. What say you, Chief fans?
Phillip Maxwell – ArrowheadOne