[duncan_idaho]

Hardman vs signing Brown isn’t just about raw production totals, though. OWP. That’s where you’re seemingly hung up and where this disconnect is. It’s about how they affect what teams do to combat the Chiefs offense.

Mahomes and Hardman have consistently had the same issues connecting on deep balls that Mahomes and Valdes-Scantling did in 2023; not on the same page/reading the D differently.

One of the reasons the offense bogged down this year was that teams stopped playing KC like the deep ball was a concern; because they did t think Mahomes and Valdes-Scantling could hurt them enough.

If Hardman is your plan for deep balls in 2024, there’s a high risk his struggles getting on the same page with Mahomes continue and teams have the same realization they did this year.

It’s not just about the production you’re paying for. It’s also about what that player does to make the offense work and open things up.

Marquise Brown is absolutely more respected and feared, even now, than Hardman.

(And if it’s me, honestly, I am open to bringing back Hardman AND another signing Brown.)

Put speed out there and make teams freak out about covering every blade of grass horizontally and vertically and then let Reid and Mahomes break out the blowtorch again.

Multiple ways to get there. They could take Worthy as that guy to make teams fear the deep ball again and complement that other ways. Or Legette. Or Franklin.

But filling one of those WR roles you need in FA gives a lot more flexibility in the draft and raises your outcome floor.