Last year was perhaps the “Year of the Tight End” in the NFL Draft. A year ago football fans saw sixteen tight ends drafted – the most since the 2015 draft class – and two players from the same school come off the board in the first round. Iowa’s T.J. Hockenson was drafted eighth overall by the Detroit Lions, while his teammate Noah Fant came off the board 20th to the Denver Broncos. In all, eight players were drafted on the first two days of the 2019 Draft at the tight end position.
This group, however, might not match those numbers. In fact, you might be waiting until midway through the second round to see the first tight end come off the board.
This year’s crop contains a number of players who fit perhaps one role (move tight end) or another role (blocking tight end). Finding the prototypical, “do it all” type of player might take a bit of work. There are some potential players in that mold, who will be near the top of that list as you might expect, but there are still questions about what they can do in the NFL.
So if you are a fan of a team needing help at this position, pack some patience.
1. Cole Kmet, TE, Notre Dame
Height: 6’6″ Weight: 262
40-Yard Dash: 4.7 seconds
Bench Press: N/A
Vertical Jump: 37 inches
Broad Jump: 10 feet 3 inches
3-Cone Drill: 7.44 seconds
20-Yard Shuttle: 4.41 seconds
60-Yard Shuttle: N/A
Bio: Cole Kmet was a highly-regarded recruit coming out of high school, where he was a two-sport athlete for St. Viator High School in Illinois. Kmet was, according to 247Sports, the third-best tight end recruit in the nation, and out of his 16 scholarship offers he decided to select Notre Dame. In addition to his work as a tight end, Kmet was a left-handed pitcher both in high school and in college, and he pitched for the Fighting Irish as a freshman and sophomore before an arm injury ended his sophomore season. He then chose to focus on football. During his freshman year he led Notre Dame with eight saves as a relief pitcher.
On the gridiron, Kmet did not contribute on a consistent basis until this last season. As a true sophomore in 2018 he managed just 15 receptions on 17 targets, for 162 yards. Last year, however, he caught 43 passes for 515 yards and six touchdowns, averaging 12 yards per reception.
Stat to Know: Kmet did his best work in the intermediate area of the field. Notre Dame passers had a rating of 102.5 when targeting him between 10 and 19 yards downfield.
Strengths: Sometimes a game in front of a national audience can propel a prospect towards the top of draft boards, and for Kmet that game might have been a primetime outing against the University of Georgia down in Athens. After missing the first three games of the season with a broken collarbone, Kmet caught nine passes for 108 yards (both season-high numbers for him) and a touchdown. Kmet showed up on his first reception of the game, displaying some toughness after the catch as well as some incredible contact balance for a 6’6″ tight end:
In addition, if you think about where NFL offenses look to attack defenses, your eyes will be drawn to the seams. Given the prevalance of single-high coverage in the professional game, offenses need to attack the seams. Having a tight end that can do this both before and after the catch is going to help an offense:
On this seam route Kmet shows the ability to change pace as a route runner, saving an extra gear for when he needs to accelerate past the second-level defenders. He also absorbs a shot after the catch, but hangs on while the safety is slow to get up.
As a route-runner, his ability to find an extra gear as well as how he comes off the line of scrimmage give him an advantage over some of the other TEs in this class. He seems to get an extra step on most of his routes, giving him just a bit more separation than his peers. Kmet is not the most technically-sound route-runner at the position, but his combination of size, burst and straight-line speed gives him an advantage. He also has a tremendous catch radius, which will make him a quarterback’s security blanket on third down situations.
Kmet is also adept at chipping pass rushers before releasing on his route, as well as generating yardage after the catch with power. He will not accelerate away from would-be tacklers, nor is he that shifty after the catch, but he uses his size and power to make sure he gets all the meat off the bone with each reception.
As an inline blocker, Kmet handles more responsibilities in this realm than most college tight ends. Notre Dame did task him with pass protection responsibilities, and he also shows good awareness to adjust his blocking assignment post-snap if his pre-snap read of the play changes due to a defensive adjustment. Kmet is also a good blocker in space, who can get out in front of screens or work to the second-level on run designs.
Weaknesses: Kmet’s hands are not as solid as you might expect, and he relies on his body and frame in close quarters or in contested catch situations to secure the football. While his physical prowess after the catch is how he generates additional yardage, he can be re-routed or jammed off the line by linebackers. It did take a while for him to produce in Notre Dame’s offense, so that is worth mentioning, as is his injury history. Both the left elbow injury and the broken collarbone are areas for NFL teams to explore before the draft.
Conclusion: In a weak tight end class, Kmet’s ability to perhaps be an all-around tight end – something that is rare to find coming out of college – coupled with his ideal size and his solid play make him perhaps the safest option at the position. He seems ready to handle all the aspects of playing the tight end position at the next level, while many other prospects in this class might be forced to specialize in one way or another. Kmet’s ability to create enough space as a receiver is going to be a big plus for him as he makes the transition to the next level.
Comparison: Lance Zierlein from NFL.com compared him to Tyler Higbee, and that comparison makes some sense. You can also see another Notre Dame product, Tyler Eifert, in Kmet’s game.
