Chicago Bears rookie tight end Cole Kmet scored the first touchdown of his career in Week 6 against the Carolina Panthers when he caught a nine-yard strike from Nick Foles while draped by multiple Panthers defenders.
Check it out:
In traffic, what a TD for hometown kid, @ColeKmet! 🤩
📺: FOX#CHIvsCAR | #DaBears pic.twitter.com/Yui3oiEydu
— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) October 18, 2020
Kmet secured the touchdown between three defenders in a play that looked very much like Rob Gronkowski, who Kmet was compared to as a draft prospect in April.
Part of what made Gronkowski and Tom Brady so lethal as a duo in New England was their ability do adjust on the fly, something that Kmet did on his touchdown, according to Foles.
Nick Foles said Cole kmet kept the route alive on Kmet's first NFL TD. Wasn't supposed to go that way. All credit to Kmet.
— Mark Grote (@markgrotesports) October 18, 2020
Kmet’s been off to a slow start as a pass-catcher in the Bears’ offense, totaling just one catch for 12 yards before Sunday’s game. But his two catches and 20 yards against Carolina, while not earth-shattering, provided a glimpse of the upside that made him such an appealing player out of Notre Dame and why the Bears selected him 43rd overall.
Chicago received strong play from veteran Jimmy Graham as well. He ended Week 6 with five catches for 34 yards, bringing the duo’s end-of-game stat-line to a combined seven catches for 54 yards and a touchdown.
It’s the kind of production the Bears were hoping to receive from their tight ends after making such a hefty investment into the position in the offseason. It proved to be a wise strategy in the win over the Panthers.