Chicago Bears: 5 Hot takes on Matt Nagy, Darnell Mooney and more
By Evan Bruner
Chicago Bears Hot Take No. 2: It is time to start worrying about Cole Kmet
Is it too early to worry about Cole Kmet?
As mentioned with Allen Robinson, Kmet’s lack of production can be somewhat explained by the team’s limited passing attempts. Still, Kmet has made little, if any impact, in the last few weeks. Kmet finished Sunday’s game with one catch for six yards and a drop on what would’ve been one of Justin Fields’ best plays of the day.
Why isn’t Kmet a bigger part of the offense?
Kmet was the first tight end of the board in the 2020 class and had his role gradually build throughout his rookie season. Why is he now almost a non-factor in the offense? Maybe it’s because Justin Fields is still forming connections with his pass-catchers, but there also may be a possibility that the coaching staff doesn’t believe Kmet is good enough to be a difference-maker in the offense.
The biggest problem I have with Kmet right now is that I just don’t see anything he is great at doing. Even this early into a player’s career, we should at least have a pretty good idea of what he brings to the table. everything Kmet does, he seems to do at an average to a pretty good level. Elite tight ends are hard to find, and I don’t think it’s fair to ask him to be Travis Kelce or George Kittle, but it will be hard for Kmet to live up to his draft pick if he doesn’t become at least a top-eight tight end, and right now, I’m becoming a little skeptical about that possibility.
Bottom line:
We are still very early in Kmet’s career, but I haven’t seen enough flashes to feel good about the direction he is going. This is a topic I would like to revisit in the offseason.