Interview: Analyzing Cole Kmet’s Fit with Chicago Bears

How do you evaluate the Chicago Bears selection of ND TE Cole Kmet? I was asked to do just that on the radio. Enjoy that right here!

Chicago Bears fans had mixed emotions Friday night when their team selected tight end Cole Kmet with the 43rd overall pick.  Kmet is a local product which thrills Bears fans but is far from a perfect tight end prospect despite being the first tight end off the board.

I was welcomed as a guest by colleague Joe Ostrowski, evening host at 670 The Score in Chicago.  Joe wanted to discuss my thoughts on the Kmet pick and how he’ll fit with the Bears.  It’s a strange mix of Kmet being a project at the NFL level but also likely being the most complete tight end currently on the Bears roster.

I like the pick but acknowledge the Bears issues at other positions that remain with Kmet and Utah corner Jaylon Johnson being selected Friday night.

Enjoy the interview here.

And if you’re interested I’ll be on 670 The Score again Sunday morning at 10:40 a.m. ET.  You can listen live to The Score to catch my appearance here. 

Notre Dame Pair Featured in USA TODAY Mock Draft

The other Golden Domer that Middlehurst-Schwartz had going in round one would be headed to one of the few franchises still playing football this January.

As college football has concluded for 2019 and the NFL has just three more games of consequence we slowly start to turn to the annual blending of the two, the NFL Draft.

Next weekend will be the Senior Bowl in Mobile, Alabama and coaches and scouts will get a chance to see the stars of tomorrow up close for a week.

With that in mind it is officially Mock Draft Season.

Perhaps the excitement in the air isn’t quite as rich as when the holidays hit in December but for football fans and followers it’s an interesting time to watch stocks rise and fall NFL bound players.

With that in mind the USA TODAY released their latest NFL Mock Draft on Thursday and a pair of key 2019 Notre Dame players made their way to the first round.

Here is who Michael Middlehurst-Schwartz has going and where he has them headed in April’s draft:

23. Patriots — Cole Kmet, TE, Notre Dame: While New England’s future with Tom Brady remains unclear, perhaps it’s time for Bill Belichick and Co. to focus on a different glaring issue. As the draft’s top talent at tight end, Kmet might help fill the Rob Gronkowski-sized hole in this offense.

Ah, the natural fit. If you’re a tight end you want to go to Notre Dame because they turn out more talent than anyone else at the position. Meanwhile if you’re in the NFL it’s hard to find many places better to play than New England where so much of their offensive success over the last two decades has been built on great tight ends. This would be a dream scenario for Kmet.

The other Golden Domer that Middlehurst-Schwartz had going in round one would be headed to one of the few franchises still playing football this January.

29. Titans — Julian Okwara, DE/OLB, Notre Dame: Mike Vrabel has thrown an assortment of players into the pass-rushing mix, yet none have proven consistent threats. Tennessee can ramp up its efforts on this front by grabbing Okwara, who’s still learning the finer points of his position but has a tantalizing athletic profile.

Will Okwara end being a first round pick? It depends you ask, read or follow as he is seemingly very much on the bubble there. After what they’ve done the last two weekends and really since the middle of the regular season Okwara would be walking into a place to likely to compete for something big again.

Notre Dame Football: Top Plays of the Year – Number 10

Previous to 2019 Cole Kmet was a pretty strong rumor and the idea of him was great to Notre Dame fans but the actual output left plenty wondering what he’d do as the main tight end entering the season.

As we near the end of the 2019 calendar year its a good time to look back at everything that went on in 2019 both personally and for our favorite sports teams.  We’ll be doing that in the coming days here at Fighting Irish Wire over the next few days as we continue to get ready for the Camping World Bowl versus Iowa State on Saturday, December 28.

In the days leading up to the bowl game we will be counting down the top-10 plays of the 2019 Notre Dame football regular season.  They could have happened on offense, defense or special teams but they had to have happened in a game and not in practice so please go easy on us when we fail to have 10 Kyle Hamilton plays on the list.

We will unveil the plays twice a day from now through Friday and feel free to leave comments in our forum if you agree or disagree or are just looking for some general Notre Dame or college football conversation.

I don’t want to keep you waiting any longer so here is the first play on that list:

Previous to 2019 Cole Kmet was a pretty strong rumor and the idea of him was great to Notre Dame fans but the actual output left plenty wondering what he’d do as the main tight end entering the season.

His year couldn’t have gotten off to much worse of a start as he broke his collarbone early in fall camp and missed the first two games of the season.

When he did finally take the field in game-action, well ahead of when most expected him to be ready to play I should add, he didn’t take long to be a dominating force.

That is why our number 10 play of the year for 2019’s regular season is:

Cole Kmet’s go-ahead touchdown at Georgia

Notre Dame was unable to hold on for victory in that contest but Kmet showed he was worth every word of hype that night, finishing with nine receptions for 108 yards and that touchdown on the night.

He would finish the regular season with five more touchdown receptions and a total of 41 catches for 482 yards.

He said previously he’d be returning to school for the baseball season this spring and his senior year of football but until he’s actual playing on the diamond I will be a bit worried about that just because others have caught up with what we told you two months ago – that he’d be under strong consideration to be a first round draft pick.

Stay tuned to FIW throughout the week as we’ll continue to countdown the top 10 plays of the regular season.  Number nine will be out early this evening.

Thanks as always for reading and as always – Go Irish!