5 takeaways from the Bears impressive victory over the Seahawks

Cole Kmet looks ready for a breakout season for the Bears.

While Cole Kmet may have only played one drive against Seattle, the Chicago Bears still got him involved early, as they called a tight end screen to get him the ball in space on the game’s first play. He made his presence felt again with a 19-yard reception that got Chicago in field goal range later in the drive.

There has been a lot of hype around the Justin Fields-Darnell Mooney connection, but the bond between Fields and his top tight end looks just as strong. Likewise, no one mentions Kmet when the national media is blasting Chicago for having the league’s worst group of pass-catchers, and he could take the NFL by storm this year.

It is no secret that Kmet gets disrespected by the media, but the jury is still out on whether he has lived up to the hype of being a second-round selection (and the first tight end taken) in the 2020 draft. He may have more than doubled his yardage in 2021 but failed to use his massive frame to his advantage and finished his sophomore campaign without a touchdown.

He is still only 23 and possesses the skills to be one of the game’s elite tight ends if he can become a more consistent threat in the passing game (and red zone). It is important to remember that the position is historically difficult to learn, and it took countless great players a few years to reach their potential.

It looked like Kmet was playing with more confidence late in the season last year, and he should only be better now that he has had a year to build a rapport with Justin Fields. Getsy seems prepared to unleash Kmet in the passing game, which could be very scary for opposing defenses.