The Chicago Bears can’t seem to win with people. Even when they make moves that seem obvious, they’re criticized for them. The tight end position was an absolute nightmare for them in 2019. Nobody reached 100 yards receiving, which is unheard of in this era. Yet when GM Ryan Pace works to improve the position by drafting Cole Kmet in the 2nd round, a lot of guys wonder why since they already have nine tight ends on the roster.
Anybody with common sense knows that is a pointless argument. Most of those other tight ends won’t be on the roster by the end of August. What matters is the Bears get the right guys. Clearly they feel Kmet can be one of them. Based on opinions from several experts, he certainly has the talent. Still, some believe it will be a year or two before the 21-year old is a factor on offense.
Conor Orr of The MMQB doesn’t agree. He sees the rookie making plays right away.
“Kmet is one of approximately 1,100 tight ends on the Bears’ roster right now but shouldn’t have a difficult time working his way into a regular timeshare with Jimmy Graham. The Bears utilized two tight-end formations frequently on certain downs (it was their third-most utilized personnel grouping on first-and-10, for example) and he’s wonderfully improvisational inside the goal line. That will be rewarded, especially if the more mobile Mitchell Trubisky wins the job out of camp.”
Cole Kmet could solve a key issue the Bears have had
That last bit mentioned about goal line action is key. Chicago had a nightmare all season trying to punch it in from goal-to-go situations. Of the 32 passes Mitch Trubisky threw in that area of the field, only 14 were completed and 10 of them for touchdowns. That is not good. A big reason why was no presence at tight end. Trey Burton and Adam Shaheen were hurt all season and nobody else could step up.
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Taking advantage of those scoring opportunities is often the difference between going 12-4 and going 8-8. That is why the Bears signed Jimmy Graham and that is why they drafted Kmet. They wanted two giant athletes with good hands who presented big targets in those clustered areas. Kmet caught just 43 passes his final year at Notre Dame, but six went for touchdowns. He can be so much more in an offense that is geared towards him.
