Five Chicago Bears who must step up vs the Lions in Week 4

Chicago Bears who must step up: Cole Kmet

Cole Kmet has failed to live up to any expectations that fans could have had for him after the team drafted him with their first pick of the 2020 draft in the second round. He may have had Jimmy Graham in front of him last season, but this year should have been his break-out season — it has yet to happen.

With rookie quarterbacks, the reliance is usually placed on running backs and tight ends as security blankets. With the porous offensive line play of the Bears, Kmet should see more importance in the offense if the team can actually move the ball.

At 6-foot-6 and 258 pounds, Kmet is a massive player who has yet to prove he can be that new-age tight end that teams are desperate to find. Guys like Kansas City’s Travis Kelce, Miami’s Mike Gesicki, and even Atlanta’s Kyle Pitts are what Kmet should project at, but for whatever reason, he just hasn’t.

Call it a lack of opportunities, bad quarterback play, or bad play-calling, Kmet has not been able to put it together. According to Alyssa Barbieri of Bearswire, Kmet was the Bears’ worst graded offensive player on a terrible offensive day.

As a whole, the offense needs to improve off of last week, but Kmet needs to prove he was worth the second-round selection from a year ago.