Cole Kmet is the Chicago Bears' MVP through Week 6 of the 2024 NFL season

Chicago Bears' tight end Cole Kmet has grown on me.

The St. Viator grad is like the trusty old hoodie with frayed sleeves that you throw on when you wake up cold in the middle of the night. That same comfortable hoodie stays on until midday on an NFL Sunday when half the Beggars Pizza has been eaten, and the sun has finally risen high enough to shake the chill off your wood floor. 

Because it’s so reliable, that hoodie is a go to year-after-year. It can do everything: keep you warm at night, when you wake up and the coffee hasn’t yet warmed your soul and get you through the first bites of pizza dusted in parmesan and red pepper.

It’s exactly what Knet has matured into. The tight end who can run the seam, split the field and run through the tackle of a safety or have the speed and size to get the 7 yards needed for a first down. He’s even stout enough to come in motion and seal the edge so a running back can slide through the hole. 

But Kmet is no longer just a tight end. With 26 catches for 289 yards, an average of 11.1 yards per catch, and three touchdowns, he's also the NFC Special Teams Player of the Week. He's the first ever long snapper to win the award.

That’s right, Special Teams Player of the Week and we’re not getting Punk’d. 

Last week in a 35-16 trouncing of the hapless Jacksonville Jaguars in London, Kmet added the position of long snapper to his growing list of impressive achievements. When Scott Daly went down with injury, Kmet stepped in and the vital operation didn’t miss a beat. 

As a dynamic force on offense and a steady pinch hitter on special teams, Kmet is the early-season MVP for the Bears.  

There was a time when Kmet looked like he was picked too high. There was potential but you had to squint to see progress. 

Like Notre Dame making the then Four-Team Playoff only to be run over by an SEC school in the semifinals, Kmet didn’t inspire confidence at first. 

Drops on out patterns, defensive backs that had 40 pounds on taking him down in the open field and failure to go up and get 50-50 balls made it seem like he was as tough as his alma mater in a game against a team with a conference that plays a rigorous schedule.

Today, he’s the Bears MVP of the first third-ish of the season. Perhaps it’s all the weapons around him. A quarterback with real NFL talent to read defenses and make all the throws in Caleb Williams. 

Or maybe, in year five, Kmet has fully realized his potential. He’s on pace for a career-high in yards and touchdowns. He hasn’t dropped a pass this year while moonlighting as a long snapper.