Tag: Arlington Heights

Watch: Newest Chicago Bears Tight End, Cole Kmet’s Highlights

Cole Kmet didn’t star at Notre Dame for long but he did make plenty of memorable plays. Watch them right here!

The Chicago Bears selected Notre Dame tight end Cole Kmet 43rd overall Friday night.  Kmet had been thought by some to be a potential first round pick but was still available when the Bears were picking in the middle of round two.

Kmet missed the first two games of 2019 for Notre Dame with a broken collarbone but splashed on the scene in his season debut at Georgia, pulling down nine receptions for 108 yards and a touchdown.

Kmet isn’t a finished product by any means.  Some knocks include inconsistent in run blocking, although willing to engage.  I’ve also thought at times that he uses his body a bit too much when making a catch, something that will get you in trouble at the next level.  That said, Bears fans should be excited to get what is easily the best tight end in this draft as they look to fill what has been a black hole at the position in recent years.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=51fNVJDj-ZE] Kmet’s career stat line at Notre Dame:
35 games, 60 receptions, 691 yards, six touchdowns.

Kmet’s final season at Notre Dame:
11 games, 43 515 yards, six touchdowns

 

NFL Combine: Kmet Well Aware of Hometown Bears Need at Tight End

As the Chicago Bears enter 2020 the need at the position is as obvious as it gets and the Notre Dame product is well-aware of his hometown team’s hole at the position.

The Chicago Bears have a good amount of needs headed into the 2020 NFL Draft with tight end being a massive one.  In the offense they’re trying to run, modeled off of that from Andy Reid and the Kansas City Chiefs, the importance of a tight end can’t be understated.

However, the Bears have struck out on the position in recent years paying a boatload of money to former Philadelphia Eagle Trey Burton and spending a second round pick on Adam Shaheen who has done practically nothing in three seasons.  As they enter 2020 the need at the position is as obvious as it gets and the Notre Dame product is well-aware of his hometown team’s hole at the position.

“I’ve definitely looked at it” is what Kmet said Tuesday at the combine when asked about the Bears issues at the position.

“Obviously it would be a great opportunity to play in Chicago and the hometown and all of that. That would be a lot of fun” Kmet added.

Notre Dame used to be a hot-bed for talent for the Chicago Bears as 22 different former Fighting Irish players have been drafted by the Bears over the years.

Dave Duerson, Jim Flanigan, Mike Gandy and some guy named Johnny Lujack immediately come to mind.

When asked his favorite NFL team growing up, Kmet let his fondness for the orange and blue in Chicago be known:

“The Bears. The hometown.”

Kmet helped guide St. Viator High School in Chicago suburb Arlington Heights, Illinois to a state championship in baseball his senior year.  Tom Thayer and Chris Zorich are a couple of the Chicago locals to go on to Notre Dame before ending up with the Bears, a list Kmet could potentially join.

Personally I’d hope for Kmet to be a Bear, been a while since a Notre Dame player was brought in and expected to be a difference-maker on my favorite NFL team.  I’m guessing Kmet would be happier to sneak into the back end of the first round (Bears first pick is 43rd overall) and find a more consistently good franchise and bigger paycheck that comes along with it.