When the Chicago Bears drafted Cole Kmet there were plenty of players that were considered NFL comparisons for him. Of course, many went straight to Notre Dame tight ends and compared him to Kyle Rudolph. Rudolph is not quite Rob Gronkowski but many fans would be quite alright if the career of Rudolph played out with Kmet on the Bears. When Kmet went pick 43, which just so happened to be the same pick as Kyle Rudolph, the Notre Dame tight end talk picked up.
While Kmet did not set the world on fire as a rookie, we all knew that coming in, and when you put his performance up against realistic expectations, he did about what he was expected to do. In fact, he did almost exactly what Kyle Rudolph did when he was a rookie.
Check out the comparison below.
| Rece | Rece | Rece | Rece | Rece | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rk | Player | From | To | AV | G | Rec | Yds | TD | Y/R | Lng |
| 1 | Cole Kmet | 2020 | 2020 | 2 | 16 | 28 | 243 | 2 | 8.7 | 38 |
| 2 | Kyle Rudolph | 2011 | 2011 | 2 | 15 | 26 | 249 | 3 | 9.6 | 41 |
Chicago Bears fans should be patient with Cole Kmet
Cole Kmet had two more catches for six less yards than Kyle Rudolph, not a very big difference. That can certainly give Bears fans hope, that Kmet has a good chance to be contribute more just like the tight end from Notre Dame in Rudolph.
One thing that is worth noting with Kmet and Rudolph is run blocking. Rudolph and Kmet did wind up playing about the same number of run blocking snaps. However, as a rookie Ruolph was a bit more respected. Per PFF, Rudolph had a 86.1 run blocking grade. On the flip side Kmet had a 57.5 run blocking grade.
Overall, his progression in the passing game may not be as vital as his progression as a blocker. For him to be respected as a blocker he can bring an added dimension that gets him on the field more and clears things up in the passing game for him to take advantage of. This will be the biggest development to watch this offseason.