There were a lot of projections that had the Chicago Bears taking the former Notre Dame tight end and that’s exactly who they took. With the No. 43 overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft the Bears picked the hometown kid, Cole Kmet.
Ok, Lake Barrington isn’t Chicago, but that’s close enough!
HOME!!!!!! @ChicagoBears pic.twitter.com/7BR17O3Zfc
— Cole Kmet (@ColeKmet) April 25, 2020
Alright, I already like this guy.
With the recent signing of Jimmy Graham, the release of Trey Burton, and the other 9 tight ends currently on the roster, you may be wondering why the Bears picked him when they have a lot of other needs. Well I’m wondering that, too. It may not be the number one need for the Bears, but there’s a lot to like about this dude.
While there wasn’t a lot of production his freshman and sophomore year, he really had his coming out party in 2019 after dealing with a broken collarbone that caused him to miss Notre Dame’s first 3 games. He finished the year with 43 receptions for 515 yards and 6 TDs and continuously showed off his athletic ability.
Pros
- Good hands
- Athletic – was a dual sport athlete at ND (baseball and football)
- Good catch range and can catch the ball wherever it ends up (might be an underrated skill considering Trubisky will be throwing him the ball)
- He’s got great size at 6’6″, 262 lbs.
- Regarded as the best TE in the draft
- Hometown kid
- Knows his audience (see tweet above)
Cons
- Not a great blocker
- Has a little trouble getting going off the line
- To take advantage of his athleticism, needs to work on his route running
There was high praise for the Bears from NFL Network Analyst Daniel Jeremiah shortly after the they made their other 2nd round pick:
.@MoveTheSticks on the Chicago Bears drafting the 50th pick CB Jaylon Johnson — “I think you can argue they got two first-round players [in Cole Kmet and Jaylon Johnson].”
— NFL Media (@NFLMedia) April 25, 2020
I’d say the positives outweigh any negatives he might have and the talking heads certainly think he was worth the pick. The Bears needed a long term solution at TE and let’s be honest… Even though the Bears have a million tight ends on the team right now, they’re almost all gonna get cut before the season starts.
One small under-the-radar upside of this pick is that he has a unique opportunity to be paired up with Jimmy Graham. Don’t forget how lethal Jimmy Graham once was…Kmet can learn a lot from him. That Graham signing might be a blessing in disguise for the future of the new Bear and the organization. Was that the plan all along??
Also for all you Cubs fans…
Cubs suck
— Cole Kmet (@ColeKmet) October 30, 2014
Don’t worry…. I got excited and thought he was a White Sox fan, but after a deeper dive, he was just sick of the Cubs losing. It was 2014 after all.
Welcome (back) to Chicago, Cole!
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