Full details of Jets' Mecole Hardman trade have been finalized after latest pick

Remember Mecole Hardman’s short-lived stint with the New York Jets? Well, two years later, the trade that sent him back to the Kansas City Chiefs has finally been finalized, and the road we took to get here is about as ridiculous as you would expect.

The Jets originally signed Hardman in March 2023, hoping he could be a dynamic addition to their wide receiver room. Instead, he caught exactly one pass for six yards in five games before getting shipped back to Kansas City that October.

Of course, in true Jets fashion, Hardman went on to catch the game-winning touchdown in overtime of Super Bowl LVIII for the Chiefs, helping them beat the San Francisco 49ers to earn his third Super Bowl ring.

The original trade was simple enough at the time: the Jets sent Hardman and a 2025 seventh-round pick (No. 225 overall) to the Chiefs in exchange for a 2025 sixth-round pick (No. 207 overall). But as it tends to happen around the NFL Draft, picks got tossed around like hot potatoes.

Day 3 draft pick finally completes NY Jets' Mecole Hardman trade

Kansas City flipped the 225th pick to the Arizona Cardinals in August 2024 in exchange for defensive end Cameron Thomas, who played just four games and recorded no sacks before getting waived later that year.

Meanwhile, the Jets never even used pick No. 207. Instead, they packaged it with pick No. 145 to trade up to No. 130, where they selected Alabama safety Malachi Moore during this year's draft.

Moore is expected to make an immediate impact on special teams and hopefully develop into a core piece of the Jets' secondary moving forward. His selection was very much an Aaron Glenn-type pick.

The Cardinals eventually used pick No. 225 on Nevada safety Kitan Crawford, officially completing the long, winding saga. Crawford is a former Texas recruit who started one year at Nevada in 2024.

At the end of the day, what started as a simple midseason move for a barely-used wide receiver somehow ended with the Jets landing a promising defensive prospect, and the Chiefs ending up with basically nothing.

Somehow, someway, you could argue the Jets actually won this trade. Not bad for a guy most Jets fans barely even remember seeing on the field.

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