This Chicago Bears' player has been much better than fans realize

Chicago Bears tight end Cole Kmet is not viewed as one of the top tight ends in the NFL, but he has had an underrated start to his career. Kmet has already earned a second contract in the NFL, and he will only be 25 years old this season. That is a nice benefit of entering the NFL at such a young age. 

What makes this more impressive is knowing that it takes tight ends a lot longer to find their way in the NFL than many other positions. With Kmet getting off to this quick start, albeit not electric, it does have him in rare company. 

Kmet has 2,118 receiving yards. There are only 16 tight ends in the history of the game to record 2,000 yards before turning age 25. Kmet ranks ninth in yards by that age.

Cole Kmet's stats may surprise Chicago Bears' fans.

There are very few bad names on this list, and plenty of Hall of Fame-caliber players on this list. Not many Chicago Bears fans see Kmet in this light, but he has a combination of production and youth on his side that very few tight ends do. 

This is the age when a lot of these tight ends tend to really make strides, though. For example, he will need 2,893 yards to stay at ninth best for his age. That would mean 775 yards to keep pace. Last year he had a career high of 719 yards. It is not to say this will not happen, but this will be a test as we see if Kmet was just benefitting from entering the NFL early, or if he is ready to take a step now that he is at the age where most tight ends do.