Who Should I Start? Mecole Hardman or Olamide Zaccheaus

Wednesday, January 22, 1:12 PM

Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid said on Wednesday that wide receiver Mecole Hardman (knee) will remain on Injured Reserve, which means he won't play again this season, even if the Chiefs beat the Buffalo Bills in the AFC Championship this Sunday to advance to a third straight Super Bowl appearance. The Chiefs opened Hardman's 21-day practice window to return from IR before the Week 18 regular-season finale against the Denver Broncos, but the team never felt comfortable putting him out there on game day. The 26-year-old will now begin his offseason early and make sure that his knee is fully ready for the start of the 2025 regular season this fall. Hardman was mostly valuable to the Chiefs this year before his knee injury as a return man on special teams, as he caught only 12 of 14 targets for 90 yards and no touchdowns in 12 games played in 2024.

Sunday, January 26, 7:14 PM

Washington Commanders wide receiver Olamide Zaccheaus caught four of his five targets for 26 yards during their loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC Title game. Zaccheaus also caught a two-point conversion in the third quarter. Zaccheaus' five targets matched him with No.2 wideout Dyami Brown. His yardage total was the fourth-most among Washington pass catchers. This was a nice bounce-back showing for Zaccheaus, as he caught just three passes for 19 yards in the wild-card round and did not get on the scoresheet in the divisional round. However, during the final three weeks of the regular season, Zacchaeus was a key part of the offense as he tallied 68.7 yards per game with three touchdowns. Zaccheaus will likely continue to operate as a depth wide receiver if he returns to Washington in 2025.