Chad Johnson wants to race Chiefs WR Mecole Hardman

Who’ve you got in the race? Chiefs WR Mecole Hardman or former Bengals WR Chad Johnson?

Former Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Chad “Ochocinco” Johnson has challenged Kansas City Chiefs WR Mecole Hardman to a friendly race.

Johnson played in the NFL for 11 seasons, spending most of his time with the Bengals. During that time he caught 766 passes for over 11,000 yards and 67 touchdowns. While Johnson hasn’t been in the NFL since the 2012 season, he’s still a very talented athlete.

This isn’t the first time that these two receivers have been mentioned in the same breath. Kansas City offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy compared Hardman to Johnson ahead of the 2019 NFL draft in the debut episode of the team’s documentary series “The Franchise.”

“This kid reminds me of Chad Johnson when he came out,” Bieniemy said.

Bieniemy’s comment drew a response from Johnson — he wanted to test Hardman’s feet and see if the comparison held up. As the NFL season has progressed, Hardman has put his speed on display, owning two of the NFL’s top-10 speeds by a ball carrier for the entire 2019 season, according to the league’s Next Gen Stats.

Now that Johnson has been able to see Hardman play, he wants the opportunity to test his speed one-on-one.

Right now, Hardman is in the midst of a playoff hunt with the Chiefs. That said, Hardman has already responded to Johnson’s challenge, which he humbly accepted.

Whether or not the race will happen remains to be seen. According to Hardman, it’s up to Johnson to decide.

“I don’t know,” Hardman said on Thursday. “That’s up to Chad. That’s up to him. I’m down for it, we can do it. Definitely after the season, but if he wants to race, he can come and get his work.”

If it does happen perhaps they’ll even get Tyreek Hill to join, and hopefully we’ll all have an opportunity to watch.