The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Cunningham
Mecole Hardman’s return to the Chiefs brings ‘different energy’ and Georgia connections.
but was considered a fringe first-round prospect before impressing scouts during pre-draft workouts. The Chiefs swapped the No. 27 pick and more for Buffalo’s No. 10 pick to select Mahomes.
The Falcons might not even need to trade up in April’s draft to nab a good prospect. This draft is deeper in quarterbacks than the 2017 one. The Falcons could try to sign a free agent, but the pickings are slim. And while I believe Justin Fields is a fine option for the Falcons on the trade market, making that deal would come with more risk than just drafting a QB.
Assuming the Falcons don’t acquire a veteran, they likely will be able to choose a good prospect with the No. 8 pick. They can forget about USC’s Caleb Williams, LSU’s Jayden Daniels and North
Carolina’s Drake Maye. The teams picking 1-2-3 need a quarterback, and so do several other teams that will be looking to trade up.
Michael Penix Jr. is a plausible alternative for the Falcons. He’s an accurate passer with a quick, if unconventional, release. Penix’s draft value has been depressed by his injury history. But he started 28 games during two seasons at Washington while setting school records and finishing as Heisman Trophy runner-up behind Daniels in 2023.
Bo Nix and J.J. McCarthy are the other two second-tier QB prospects. You may remember Nix struggling at Auburn, but he got away from that mess of a program and blossomed into a star at Oregon. Michigan won last season’s national championship with McCarthy. He didn’t throwmuch, but he’s a good athlete with a strong arm.
I don’tknoww hich of the quarterback prospects in this draft will end up being good in the NFL. I do know the chances are good that teams that draft one within the first five picks will end up being happy with the choice. Quarterback prospects selected within the top five picks have fared well since the league expanded to 32 teams for 2002.
There were 33 quarterbacks who fit the criteria from 2002-23. Only three of them were outright busts, by which I mean no more than one year as an average starter or better: JaMarcus Russell, Terrelle Pryor and Sam Darnold. It’s too soon to say with recent draftees Zach Wilson, Trey Lance and Anthony Richardson. If none of them works out, that still would mean 82% of the QBs drafted in the top five became competent starters or better for more than one season over the past 22 years.
That history is one reason why the Falcons must consider trading up in the draft. If they do so, it doesn’t mean they will pick the right guy. But it does increase their chances. Among the 180 quarterbacks drafted outside of the top five of the draft since 2002, 83% were busts.
Mahomes is the best of that bunch of 180. The only other contender is Aaron Rodgers, a four-team NFL MVP. But Rodgers, 40, has one Super Bowl victory in one appearance. Mahomes, 28, already has two victories in three tries, and the Chiefs can win another today.
Only one of the nine teams that passed on Mahomes drafted a quarterback. The Bears took Mitch Trubisky with the No. 2 pick. He would go on to have two good seasons as their starter. After the Bears gave up on Trubisky, they drafted Fields with the No. 11 pick in 2021.
Maybe it wouldn’t have turned out the same for Mahomes if he’d been drafted by the Bears or some other bad team. Kansas City won the AFC West with Alex Smith as the starting quarterback in 2017 and did it again in 2018. Mahomes lifted the Chiefs another level to Super Bowl contenders.
Mahomes told reporters in Las Vegas that he’s impressed with how Purdy responded when circumstances forced him to play as a rookie.
“I don’t think I would have been ready my first year to come in and play like that,” Mahomes said.
If the Falcons draft a quarterback, they most likely will need him to play right away. They aren’t as good as the Chiefs were when they drafted Mahomes. The Falcons don’t have a terrible roster, though. Good quarterback play is the main thing they were missing in 2023.
The Super Bowl quarterbacks are proof that the Falcons can improve the position even if they don’t pick near the top of the draft.
LAS VEGAS — The Kansas City Chiefs’ return to the Super Bowl was bolstered in part by Mecole Hardman’s return to the Chiefs. His speed and bigplay ability always has been a welcoming sight, but Hardman brings much more than on-field intangibles. He is beloved by his teammates for the mentality and personality he brings to work every day.
“He brings a different energy to the team,” Chiefs rookie wide receiver Rasheed Rice said. “We know he’s in the room. He’s loud, he talks a lot, he’s always making me laugh, always making me smile. If you’re trying to be serious or maybe you’re stressed about something … he always reminds you and tells you about the simpler things in life.”
er signing a one-year deal wi h the New York Jets this past offseason, Hardman struggled to find a role in coordinator Nathaniel Hackett’s offense and managed only 28 snaps on offense, with one catch in three targets for six yards in five games before the Jets traded him back to the Chiefs in October — and back to a comfortable environment.
“They drafted me, and I’ve been here for a long time, so they know what type of player I am. … They’re familiar with me and know what I can do,” Hardman said. “Going into a new situation, they’re just trying to figure me out, and that’s what the Jets tried to do … but it didn’t work out the way it was supposed to, and I’m happy to be back.”
After posting a blazing 4.33 seconds in the 40-yard dash at the 2019 NFL combine, Hardman understands where his strengths lie and has brought some big-play threat back to a Chiefs offense that hasn’t been the same since the departure of wide receiver Tyreek Hill in
March 2022.
“I think, first off, you get that speed, the speed that he has and being able to stretch the defense horizontally and vertically whenever he is on the field, “Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes said.
Since his return to the Chiefs lineup in Week 7, it has been about more than the on-field production, and for Mahomes, that continuity can go a long way in big games such as the Super Bowl.
“Being with us the year before and years previous, everybody loved Mecole and the way he brings the energy every single day,” Mahomes said. “I think a lot of times that can be bigger than anything … just having guys in the locker room that want to play hard, that want to come together and go for this common goal and it’s always great to get those guys in there.”
In his first four seasons with the Chiefs, Hardman hauled in 152 catches for 2,094 yards and 16 touchdowns, proving to be a reliable slot target for Mahomes as well as a natural role model in the locker room for younger players trying to craft a role in coach Andy Reid’s offense.
He’s got good chemistry with Pat, really the same connection, and he kind of understands what Pat likes, what coach Reid likes, and helps our young guys and gets our new guys involved that were kind of learning on the run or learning on the go how we do things,” Chiefs wide receiver coach Connor Embree said.
Hardman credits his Georgia Bulldogs upbringing in coach Kirby Smart’s system as a bridge to understanding the nuances that the jump to the NFL can bring for young wide receivers.
“Coach Smart knows how to prepare your mindset, and with playing in the SEC, it’ll definitely prepare you the right way,” Hardman said. “I think you get better all-around with knowledge for the game, understanding coverages, understanding how to get open, so I think that’s the biggest difrence (in the NFL).”
For former Bulldog and current Chiefs defensive end Malik Herring, the addition of Hardman has been particularly special. That stems from a connection that started about a decade ago during the years of rising up the Georgia high school football ranks as fourand five-star recruits at Elbert County High School in Elberton and Mary Persons High in Forsyth, respectively, before transitioning to teammates at the University of Georgia.
“It means a lot to get Mecole back,” Herring said. “I’ve been knowing Mecole since the 10th grade, so we go way back … just like having one of my brothers back in the building. Man, wish we had some more Georgia guys in here so we can get more of that family effect.”
Under coach Kirby Smart, Georgia football has managed to avoid going head-to-head against the Masters golf tournament with its annual spring game. Not this year, however.
Though UGA has yet to make an official announcement, people with knowledge of the situation confirm the G-Day game this year will be played April 13 at Sanford Stadium. Kickoff time has not been set but is expected to be early afternoon, as per usual. Television will dictate, however, and that appears to be the holdup on an announcement.
An avid golfer, Smart has for the previous eight years managed to avoid conflict with the world’s most famous invitational golf tournament, conducted annually 100 miles southeast of Athens. It could not be avoided this year, however.
The Bulldogs are expected to start spring practice March 12, or the Tuesday after the University of Georgia resumes classes following spring break (March 4-8). UGA’s pro day is set for March 13. NCAA rules limit spring practices to 15 nonconsecutive dates over five weeks. That places G-Day right up against the third round of the Masters at Augusta National Golf Club.
Georgia is in its ninth season under Smart. The Bulldogs are coming off a 13-1 season in which they missed the College Football Playoff for the first time in three years. Georgia is 42-2 over the past three years and is expected to open the 2024 season ranked No. 1.
Kia is a Super Bowl advertising veteran, and today will mark its 15th appearance during television’s most-watched annual event. The commercial, which won’t feature any of Kia’s gas-powered fleet, also comes amid growing concern that too many Americans remain hesitant to switch to electric vehicles — widely seen as the more eco-friendly future of the auto industry.
“There’s no bigger vehicle than a Super Bowl ad for bringing attention to a new product because of the ability to reach such a large potential audience,” said Ken Bernhardt, a Georgia State University marketing professor.
Kia’s recent Super Bowl spots have run the gamut with various tones and storylines. The company’s 2020 ad aimed to be motivational, telling the rags-to-riches tale of NFL running back Josh Jacobs as he drove a Kia Seltos. Last year’s commercial was light-hearted, with “Binky Dad” feverishly driving a Telluride home to retrieve his daughter’s misplaced pacifier. Kia even highlighted its plug-in EV6 crossover by using the EV to charge a robot dog that ran out of juice.
But Georgians likely remember Kia’s 2019 spot, which highlighted the company’s factory in West Point and touted it as an economic engine for the region. Located roughly 80 miles southwest of downtown Atlanta, the Kia plant has been the state’s sole automaker
Kia will begin manufacturing its EV9 model at its existing West Point factory. The Korean automaker will air a commercial today during the Super Bowl focusing on its three-row electric SUV.
An aerial photo shows Kia Motors’ U.S. Assembly Plant in West Point in 2022.
■ Blue River Development announces the addition of to its team as a real estate analyst and the addition of as a land acquisition manager.
■ Sterling Hospitality is pleased to announce that has been elevated to the role of director of culinary and purchasing, and
has been promoted to director of support and client relations.
■ Merit Financial Advisors, a Georgiabased
Aditya Patibandla
financial advisory firm that specializes in financial planning and wealth management solutions for high-networth individuals and families and those navigating life transitions, has announced that it has hired as chief investment officer. ■ National developer Portman has hired
as managing director of hospitality to lead the
company’s hotel platform. ■ Atlanta Apartment Association, the multifamily housing trade association for the metro Atlanta area, recently elected as the 2024 chair of AAA’s board of directors. White is the managing director at Perennial Properties. ■ Chamberlain Hrdlicka is pleased to announce the addition of
and to its Atlanta office.
jobs since 2018. To entice companies, state and local governments have offered billions of dollars in incentives, while the federal government has injected billions into installing charging infrastructure and growing the EV industry.
Automakers’ EV plans have hit some recent bumps in the road. Plug-in vehicle sales eclipsed 1 million for the first time last year, but domestic sales have not increased as quickly as many industry experts predicted.
Recent earnings calls and industry reports have revolved around waning consumer demand for EVs, with thousands of auto dealerships complaining that unsold EVs are clogging up their lots.
Cox Automotive, which is also owned by Cox Enterprises, reported that EVs made up 7.6% of the total share of vehicle sales during 2023, nearly a 29% increase from the prior year. But the last three months of the year saw EV sales increase at a slower pace than other recent quarters.
“The EV market in the U.S. is still growing, but not growing as fast,” Cox Automotive’s report said. The company’s analysts predict EV shares will reach 10% of all new auto sales this year.
“The momentum is there and is not going away,” the report concluded.
Kia won’t be the only auto brand advertising during the game. Toyota, Volkswagen and BMW are among the other automakers to have confirmed Super Bowl commercials this year.