Chicago Bears TE Cole Kmet is on impressive track through two years
One of the better things about the Chicago Bears drafting Cole Kmet was the age that he was selected. Being a 21-year-old, he is younger than most in his draft class, and we all know that even Velus Jones is two years older despite Kmet being in the NFL two years longer. He is also the same age as rookie tight ends Cade Otton, Jelani Woods, and Charlie Kolar.
This is impressive for Kmet and makes you think that he can still hit a second level when he gets into that age 25 range. When you combine that with the realization that tight end is one of the hardest positions to adjust to and Kmet is probably on a better track than some fans realize.
With over 800 yards before his age 23 season, he joins a list of 11 players. Below you can see the group of players to hit over 700 yards at age 22.
| Rk | Player | AV | Age | G | Tgt | Rec | Yds ▼ | Y/R | TD | Y/G | Ctch% | Y/Tgt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rob Gronkowski | 21 | 21-22 | 32 | 183 | 132 | 1873 | 14.2 | 27 | 58.5 | 72.1 | 10.2 |
| 2 | Aaron Hernandez | 17 | 21-22 | 28 | 177 | 124 | 1473 | 11.9 | 13 | 52.6 | 70.1 | 8.3 |
| 3 | Jason Witten | 10 | 21-22 | 31 | 176 | 122 | 1327 | 10.9 | 7 | 42.8 | 69.3 | 7.5 |
| 4 | Todd Heap | 9 | 21-22 | 28 | 145 | 84 | 1042 | 12.4 | 7 | 37.2 | 57.9 | 7.2 |
| 5 | Kyle Pitts | 8 | 21-21 | 17 | 110 | 68 | 1026 | 15.1 | 1 | 60.4 | 61.8 | 9.3 |
| 6 | David Njoku | 7 | 21-22 | 32 | 148 | 88 | 1025 | 11.6 | 8 | 32.0 | 59.5 | 6.9 |
| 7 | Tony Gonzalez | 10 | 21-22 | 32 | 156 | 92 | 989 | 10.8 | 4 | 30.9 | 59.0 | 6.3 |
| 8 | Jeremy Shockey | 8 | 22-22 | 15 | 128 | 74 | 894 | 12.1 | 2 | 59.6 | 57.8 | 7.0 |
| 9 | Cole Kmet | 7 | 21-22 | 33 | 137 | 88 | 855 | 9.7 | 2 | 25.9 | 64.2 | 6.2 |
| 10 | Charle Young | 11 | 22-22 | 14 | 55 | 854 | 15.5 | 6 | 61.0 | |||
| 11 | Johnny Mitchell | 8 | 21-22 | 25 | 102 | 55 | 840 | 15.3 | 7 | 33.6 | 53.9 | 8.2 |
| 12 | Eric Ebron | 6 | 21-22 | 27 | 117 | 72 | 785 | 10.9 | 6 | 29.1 | 61.5 | 6.7 |
| 13 | Jermichael Finley | 8 | 21-22 | 27 | 84 | 61 | 750 | 12.3 | 6 | 27.8 | 72.6 | 8.9 |
Cole Kmet ranks ninth in this list. This is a very impressive group to be a part of. On one hand, you can admit that he is not on the same page as players such as Rob Gronkowski, Aaron Hernandez, and Jason Witten.
Still, Kmet is on par with names such as Todd Heap, David Njoku, and Tony Gonzalez. On the low end, you could compare him to Eric Ebron and Jermichael Finely.
Kyle Pitts, Jeremy Shockey, and Charlie Young did this in one season, so they are much harder to compare to Cole Kmet.
Next. 3 comparisons to David Montgomery through 3 seasons. dark
Still, the first group with Heap, Njoku, and Gonzalez is a great company to be in. If he can keep a trajectory similar to theirs then you could expect that fans will be more excited with Kmet than they currently are.