This offseason has been anything but ordinary for NFL players, especially rookies eager to get acquainted with their new team. With an entirely virtual offseason program, rookies have missed out on some valuable reps at team facilities until the start of training camp.
But for Chicago Bears rookie tight end Cole Kmet, he managed to quickly grasp Matt Nagy’s offense this offseason.
“I have yet to trump him in a Zoom meeting on a question,” Nagy said back in May. “I can’t trick him. He knows it all … I will guarantee you he will know this playbook inside out. That’s not going to be an issue.”
Kmet said that “being a good listener and taking good notes” during meetings and studying on his own helped him gain a better understanding of the offense despite the limitations of a virtual offseason.
“I would write out a script for myself and then draw up the whole concept so I knew what everyone was doing on the play, whether that was the running back, the wide receivers, the right guard, the center, what calls had to be made,” Kmet said, via ChicagoBears.com. “I tried to get as much of the big picture as I could so that would help me out.”
Kmet got some help from his younger brother Casey, who is a pitcher at Notre Dame, where Kmet also went to school.
“He’d quiz me on some stuff and we’d go outside and do a mock walk-through,” Kmet said. “Between the whiteboard and my brother, those were two things that helped me out a lot.”
While this offseason has been less than ideal for Kmet, he appears as prepared as possible given this unconventional offseason. And he certainly has an opportunity to make an immediate impact in his rookie season.
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