NEWSLETTER
ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler continues to roll out a series ranking the NFL’s top players at every position group based on polling he has done of league executives, coaches, and scouts. Next up: tight ends.
Unfortunately, Chicago Bears tight end Cole Kmet doesn’t make the cut as a top-10 player at his position. But Kmet does garner enough votes to land among the honorable mentions. Here is a snippet from Fowler, which includes quotes from an anonymous NFC executive who speaks glowingly about Kmet:
Kmet led the Bears in receiving yards (544), touchdowns (7) and receptions (50). “Big as hell, prototype Y body,” an NFC executive said. “Might be most competitive player on that team. High-end blocking ability but can also get adequate separation as a receiver with an excellent catch radius. Hard to bring down.”
The Chicago Bears have a tight end on the cusp of consideration for being in the top 10. That’s pretty neat. It is definitely nothing to sneeze at or take for granted. If you’ve been following BN Bears’ coverage for a while, then you probably remember the revolving door of disappointments that were coming in and out of Halas Hall at the tight end position. Dion Sims, Adam Shaheen, Trey Burton, and a past-his-prime Jimmy Graham are among the tight ends who left us wanting more. Heck, things were so dire at the position at one point that they were trying to convert offensive lineman Bradley Sowell to a new position. So, yeah, I’m not going to downplay Kmet’s honorable mention nod.
And I say all of this as someone who has been burned by way too many Fighting Irish prospects over the years. But even I can’t deny that Cole Kmet has made improvements in each season since being chosen by the Bears in the 2020 NFL Draft. This truly speaks volumes about how far Kmet has come as a rookie.
That Kmet is starting to catch the eyes of talent evaluators around the league makes me think that the Notre Dame product might turn out to be one of former GM Ryan Pace’s better draft picks. No, Kmet isn’t Travis Kelce or George Kittle. But he doesn’t need to be in order to be a successful tight end in the league. And he doesn’t need to be either of those players to be successful in *THIS* system. Heck, all he has to do is look down the line at new teammate Robert Tonyan to see what it takes to thrive in Luke Getsy’s offense.
MORE: Cole Kmet and Justin Fields Are Shooting For a Brady-Gronk Type of Connection
As noted above, Kmet set a new career high with seven touchdowns last season. This is especially noteworthy when you consider that Kmet’s targets (69), catches (50), and receiving yards (544) were down in 2022 from where they were in 2021 when he put up a 60-catch, 612-yard season (but with no touchdowns) on 93 targets. For me, seeing Kmet improve on his yards per reception number (10.9) and catch percentage (72.5%) helps make up for the dip in total volume.
On the analytics end of things, we’ve seen Kmet’s grades at Pro Football Focus get better each year. After posting a 57.7 grade as a rookie in 2020 that had him ranking 58th of 71 qualifying tight ends, Kmet’s grades went up in 2021 (63.4, 37th of 70 TEs), and again in 2022 (20th of 73). As I’ve learned in therapy, incremental progress still counts as progress. And even the smallest steps forward count as steps in the right direction. The arrow is pointing up for Kmet. Both the traditional data and advanced metrics suggest that much.
And to think, there is still so much Cole Kmet can achieve.
If Kmet can find ways to better leverage his frame while maintaining the gains he has made as a blocker, route-runner, and pass-catcher, then we’ll probably see his game hit another level. Maybe he’ll even make more plays like this:
And if that happens, then we’ll probably be looking at wanting the Bears to extend Kmet ASAP. But that is a conversation I’ll save for later.
