Chicago Bears: Four underrated players to watch during camp

Cole Kmet could be primed for a breakout season for the Chicago Bears

Player No.4: Cole Kmet

Cole Kmet was the first player taken in the 2020 draft by the Bears. Of course, the Bears didn’t have a first-round pick, so Kmet was chosen in the second round. You can make the argument that Kmet had a disappointing rookie year but I would disagree.

Kmet came into the year expected to be the TE2 and I think he did a fine job of that in 2020. He appeared in all 16 games while starting nine of them and he put up a stat line of 28/243/2. I think Kmet really came on towards the end of the year when Bill Lazor took over the playcalling.

Heading into 2021, I feel that his role is still going to be the same to start the year off. Jimmy Graham was better than expected in 2020 and barring injury, he will probably be the Week 1 starter.

I feel that Kmet being TE2 for the moment is good for his growth. This allows him the chance to slide under the radar for a bit while the Bears can still get Graham to produce. Tight end is one of the toughest positions to transition to from college-to-pros and usually takes a couple of years for guys to develop. Kmet has the opportunity to grow into a very productive TE and I think he is well on his way.