I'm ready to call it: this Bears draft was an abject disaster.
Not because the Bears did anything wrong in taking the players the did – in fact, the argument could be made that Ben Johnson knocked his first draft as the head coach out of the park. Outside of running back, the Bears clearly addressed more than a couple roster spots that needed upgrades and now look like a team that could make some noise in the NFC North. (But, like, for real this time.)
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But still – this Bears' draft was an abject disaster for one very specific and sad reason: we might have just watched the beginning of the end of Cole Kmet's Bears career.
Kmet – who, you may have heard, is a Local Guy – has been a staple in the Bears' offense since getting drafted in the second round of the 2020 NFL Draft. Some of those seasons have been better than others, but Kmet's been one of the main faces of the Bears for almost half a decade now. That being said, when you take a tight end who profiles *a lot* like Kmet in the first round, and then fire off some quotes about job security, questions start to arise. And that's exactly happened to Kmet this weekend – try and read these quotes from Johnson without immediately having your mind rush to Kmet. Seriously, try it.
Ben Johnson's quotes on the Bears' 2025 draft class sure do seem pointed at someone
"We talked about it the moment the players got back in the building," Johnson said. "It was going to be a competitive environment. There is no depth chart right now. If you want to play, you've got to go earn it. If you want a role, you've got to go earn it. They know that ... I think all we did this weekend is we might've just turned up the notch a couple of dials for certain people in this building. That's a good thing. That's a healthy thing. That's where you bring out the best not only in your team but in each individual."
Granted, this could be about a lot of guys on the Bears. Johnson's got The Juice, so it's not surprising to see him take the "no one's starting job is guaranteed" routine in his first seasono as a head coach. It's very Dan Campbell-esque. It's also exactly what the Bears head coach *should* be saying.
Still, these quotes have Kmet's name written all over them. Kmet's a good player, but six years into his NFL career, we all kinda know what he is and is not. It's not hard to imagine a world where Johnson wants a little more versatility and production out of his TE1 than Kmet can provide, and it's not like this front office is particularly attached to him. He did sign a four-year extension last summer, but the way said extension is set up makes it pretty easy for the Bears to move on after this upcomming season.
I'm not quite ready to jump to conclusions based off one (1) draft pick and one (1) juicy quote, but reader, I'm close. I wonder if he'll keep his podcast deal if he ends up on the Dolphins.