Patrick Mahomes is setting the bar higher every year. After leading the Kansas City Chiefs to back-to-back Super Bowl victories in 2022 and 2023, the star quarterback will be looking to go one step further by chasing an unprecedented three-peat in the 2024 NFL season.
This is the only thing everyone at Arrowhead has been thinking about since the win against the San Francisco 49ers in February, and the Chiefs‘ moves to help Mahomes this summer are proof of that.
General manager Brett Veach and head coach Andy Reid stayed busy in the offseason trying to keep a competitive team in Kansas City, especially to improve Mahomes’ supporting cast.
And according to Mecole Hardman, the quarterback should be excited about this moves. The player who caught the game-winning touchdown in Super Bowl LVIII believes the Chiefs’ wide receivers in 2024 are even faster than the “Legion of Zoom” group that helped Mahomes win Super Bowl LIV.
“Then it was really just me and Tyreek,” Hardman said, via ESPN. “Sammy was pretty explosive as well. But as far as just speed, I think this group is probably a little bit faster. We got a little bit more, like three or four guys that actually can run.’“
Chiefs head into 2024 with new wide receivers for Mahomes
In the 2019 NFL season, Hardman was part of the Chiefs WR room known as “Legion of Zoom” due to its members’ speed. Apart from Hardman, the group was formed by Tyreek Hill, Sammy Watkins, Byron Pringle and Demarcus Robinson.
But five years later, one of those players believes the 2024 wideouts are even more dangerous. Hardman, who was part of the Chiefs’ three Super Bowl wins in the last five years, is one of the few receivers from last season returning to Arrowhead in 2024.
Kansas City first landed veteran star Marquise “Hollywood” Brown in free agency before trading up in the 2024 NFL Draft to get promising rookie Xavier Worthy. Those moves were followed by the return of seasoned wideout JuJu Smith-Schuster, who celebrated Super Bowl LVII with Mahomes.
The team’s wide receivers in 2024 also include Justin Watson—who Reid sees as the Chiefs’ secret weapon—and Skyy Moore, which means Mahomes will have speedy weapons who can also run deep routes. Only time will tell whether Hardman’s comparison with the 2019 group was right.