GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Green Bay Packers and receiver Mecole Hardman agreed to a one-year contract on Tuesday. The news, first reported by ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, was confirmed by a source.

Hardman, who turned 27 on March 12, will be a good fit in Green Bay and will have a chance to be a much larger contributor than he has the last few seasons. With experience not just as a receiver but as a returner and jet-sweep runner, he could be an exciting toy for coach Matt LaFleur.

A second-round pick by the Kansas City Chiefs in 2019, he looked like a budding star. He was a Pro Bowler and second-team All-Pro as a rookie, when he averaged 26.1 yards per kickoff return – including a 104-yard touchdown – 9.3 yards per punt return and 20.7 yards on 26 receptions.

Hardman’s offensive production increased to 41 catches for 560 yards (13.7 average) and four touchdowns in 2020 and 59 catches for 693 yards (11.7 average) and two touchdowns in 2021. He was on his way to another productive year in 2022, but an abdominal injury limited him to eight games with 25 receptions for 297 yards and four touchdowns.

Hardman signed with the Jets in free agency in 2023 but didn’t last long in New York. After five games, the Jets traded him back to the Chiefs. In six games with the Chiefs, he caught only 15 passes but did score the game-winning touchdown in the Super Bowl against the 49ers. That is one of three touchdowns in 14 career playoff games.

“I’ve played with Mecole for a long time,” Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes said after the Super Bowl win. “He’s always ready for the moment, and he’s someone that continues to practice hard and get better. And, obviously, that receiver rotation, we were bouncing around a lot of guys all year long, and those guys just continue to work.

“Just like the last Super Bowl, you never know who it’s gonna be, but it’s about everybody being ready for the moment and he was he was ready for that moment in a couple big plays.”

Hardman re-signed with the Chiefs in 2024. In 12 games, he caught 12 passes for 90 yards before a season-ending knee injury that kept him out for the playoffs.

His impact dipped with almost every season, from 20.7 yards per catch as a rookie to 8.3 in 2023 and 7.5 in 2024.

In six NFL seasons, his career drop rate is 7.8 percent, which is too high, but he had zero drops in limited chances in 2024 and only three when he had a career-high 59 receptions in 2021.

Despite the elite speed, he has not been used much in the deep game. Instead, he’s been counted on to turn a short pass into a longer gain. Almost two-thirds of his career receiving yards have come after the catch. In 2024, he had more yards after the catch (101) than receiving yards (90). In six seasons, he’s averaged an impressive 8.2 yards after the catch.

“He brings good energy and it’s good to have him back out there,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said after Hardman was re-signed in 2024. “I think we know how to use Mecole and Mecole knows that we know how to use Mecole the best and in the best way. So, he’s a smart kid. He’s a good learner that way. Speed, not the biggest guy, a speed guy. So, we like those light components.”

Hardman returned to full-time punt-return duties in 2024 and averaged 10.2 yards per runback. His Pro Bowl rookie season was his only year with extensive kickoff-return experience. For his career, he’s got a 9.2-yard average on punt returns and a 23.8-yard average on kickoff returns.

With the Packers’ two-time All-Pro returner, Keisean Nixon, perhaps ready to focus on defense, the team would need a competent returner to take over those chores. That could be Hardman.

“He’s a dynamic player,” Chiefs special teams coordinator Dave Toub said after Hardman returned to Kansas City in 2023. “He’s the fastest player. He’ll be the fastest player on our team now, as soon as he got here. So, it’s that breakaway-speed ability. We’ve seen the last time we had a touchdown was Mecole in the return game. So, we welcome him back, and he’s got the right attitude right now. And he’s ready for a fresh start.”

Hardman doesn’t have Christian Watson’s size but he does have game-breaking speed. Before the 2019 draft, he measured 5-foot-10 and 187 pounds. He ran his 40 in 4.33 seconds.

“I am a do-it-all guy,” he said at the 2019 Scouting Combine. “I can go outside, I can do inside. My special teams value is high. You can get a lot out of me, so I bring a lot of value.”

Hardman also has 26 career carries for 190 yards, a 7.3-yard average.

“I can definitely get a jet sweep,” he said at the Combine. “However you want to use me. I can be a great gadget guy. I can do a lot of things and I think my skill-set is unique and I can do more things on offense than a typical receiver can do.”

A high school quarterback and defensive back, Hardman was a five-star recruit who played at Georgia. He opened his career as a defensive back but changed to receiver for his second year at the school.

“You’ve got to find ways to get Mecole the ball. Hopefully, we’ll be able to do that,” Georgia coach Kirby Smart said during fall camp in 2017. “Hopefully, the better he goes up and catches it and makes plays vertical down the field, it’ll take the top off some of these defenses that we’ve struggled to do that in the past.”

In two seasons on the offensive side of the ball, he caught 59 passes for 950 yards and carries 13 times for 97 yards. Plus, he led the SEC in punt-return average in 2017 and 2018.