The Kansas City Chiefs wrapped up their mandatory minicamp on Thursday.

The end of mandatory minicamp marks a dead period for the rest of June and into July, with no Chiefs practices until training camp begins. Players will get some work in on their own during this time and try to keep in shape ahead of training camp.

For fans, the excitement will wane over the next several weeks. That is until excitement kicks into full gear when the pads come on at training camp, and the Chiefs will inch closer toward that first preseason game. You’ll practically be able to smell the tailgate in the air.

Chiefs reporter BJ Kissel is trying to keep the hype train rolling through the dead period with a little preview of the connection between rookie WR Mecole Hardman and QB Patrick Mahomes. Check it out:

This is something that we might see at training camp. Obviously, this is a route against air, but it’s important to note that Hardman is doing a better job catching these deep throws from Mahomes. Mahomes gave Hardman a hard time on Twitter about not running through routes early in the offseason program.

Demarcus Robinson was recently asked by reporters what advice he had offered Hardman. His advice had to do with running through every play.

“Just run through everything,” Robinson said. “It’s a different level of speed in the NFL than it was in college. We have the best quarterback in the NFL. He can get the ball downfield even when you’re 60 yards downfield, so run through everything if you have a deep route and run full speed through all your routes.”

Robinson, of course, has been the recipient of some magical passes from Mahomes, so he knows firsthand the benefit of running through every play. It looks like Hardman is beginning to get the hang of playing with Mahomes. He slowed down only slightly because he was tracking the ball in the air. We’ll see exactly how the connection between Hardman and Mahomes looks when training camp begins during the end of July.