The 2022 NFL season is slowly approaching with the final preseason game just days away. We are officially less than 20 days away from watching the Chicago Bears take the field with a brand new staff and a retooled roster. With the departure of Matt Nagy and Ryan Pace, the Matt Eberflus and Ryan Poles era began and we will get to see what they have built this offseason from the mess that was left to them.
With Eberflus becoming head coach, the hot topic surrounding it was how he can aid in the development of their treasured asset, Justin Fields. His development is crucial for this season and surrounding him with a great staff is important. Eberflus brought in Luke Getsy from the Green Bay Packers to run this offense, and we will see what Getsy will be running for the first time ever as he has never called an offense before. With him taking over, there are a few things the Bears need to show this season.
Luke Getsy needs to make Cole Kmet a priority in the offense
The Bears have a few young, high-upside players on this offense, and Cole Kmet is one of them. Kmet is a rare athlete that possesses great speed, strength, size, and hands with the potential to develop into a great tight end for years to come. He has not been used correctly yet as he’s mainly been a dump-off player for the Bears as Nagy struggled to use his tight ends.
Already into the preseason and in training camp, it is evident that Kmet is a crucial part of this offense in which he is commonly used as the first or second option in passing plays. He was heavily utilized in the Bears’ most recent game against the Seattle Seahawks in which Fields only threw for 39 yards, but Kmet contributed to 31 of those yards.
In addition to his overall usage, Kmet needs to be utilized more in the red zone as he rarely saw any red zone usage last year. He ended 2021 with 0 touchdowns, which is mind-boggling given his overall volume for the season. He should see positive regression in the touchdown category if Getsy uses him correctly.
The essential idea is that Getsy needs to use Kmet as not only the blanket for Fields but also as the zone killer with seams, crossers, etc. through the middle of the field that helped Robert Tonyan become a stud for the Packers. This should be a priority for the offense.