Bear Digest

Finding Cole Kmet and Tight Ends on Crowded Bears Target List

Cole Kmet is coming off a career year in many ways but the only remaining offensive starter from the team's last playoff game could be challenged to hit big numbers again this year.

Gene Chamberlain

Cole Kmet scores against the Saints in New Orleans. Kmet could be challenged to come up with numbers like he had last year.
Cole Kmet scores against the Saints in New Orleans. Kmet could be challenged to come up with numbers like he had last year. / Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports
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Cole Kmet is the only Bears player on offense or defense to have started or even appeared in a playoff game with the team.

Barring injury, he'll also be the only one to have chased passes from the last three first-round quarterbacks they drafted once he runs a route in a game with Caleb Williams.

"Yeah, well, I've played with a bunch of different quarterbacks at this point now," Kmet said. "So that's nothing new. Really, just being patient with it. Kind of understanding that there's a learning process to it, and especially as a rookie, there's a lot that you got to learn coming into the league."

Because Kmet has been through it before with a rookie QB, he knows what to expect.

"So I feel like he's done a great job so far throughout OTAs," Kmet said. "You can see those steps he's taking week to week but, yeah, there’s definitely an element of patience that there has to be just because of where he's at in his career. And that's totally understandable."

What's really different and maybe more difficult for Kmet is playing in this Shane Waldron offense with so many different potential elite targets.

The Bears haven't had three wide receivers, a running back and another tight end capable of providing a quarterback with this level of target across the board.

Kmet's streak of consecutive seasons with at least 50 receptions could be in jeopardy from all of this balance, let alone the rookie QB.

The Bears tight end was in an offense initially with another top tight end target. Jimmy Graham's last 50-catch season came in that last Bears playoff season of 2020 while Kmet was still learning as a rookie.

Finding a way to fit in as a "Y" or in-line tight end with Gerald Everett as a very capable downfield tight end target will be the adjustment Kmet must make. Everett has averaged 50 catches a year himself over the past three seasons. Combine this with the wide receiver triumvirate and it's difficult to see how any tight end could come away with huge numbers this year.

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RYAN POLES' OFFSEASON WORK EARNS NOD FOR RECEIVER IMPROVEMENT

The tight ends didn't pile up bigger numbers with the Seahawks when Bagent was offensive coordinator. In the first year, Everett had 48 catches, Will Dissly 26 and Colby Parkinson eight. In the second year, Noah Fant had 50 catches, Dissly 34 and Parkinson 25. In the final year, Fant had only 32 catches, Parkinson 25 and Dissly 17.

The key in the final year being how they had three big-time wide receiver targets in D.K. Metcalf, Tyler Lockett and Jaxon Smith-Njigba to go with the three tight ends.

"It just allows us to continue to be multiple, allows us to on a week-by-week basis see what might be a matchup advantage or something that we can look to lean heavier towards," Waldron said. "And with Cole and Gerald and the other tight ends and KB (Khari Blasingame) at fullback, we got a lot of different pieces that we can utilize.

"And so for us right now, this is the time of year where we're trying to figure out how is everyone going to carve out their individual role for this 2024 offense, and the more good players you can surround yourself with, the better you're going to be as a coach, obviously."

Whether this means using Cole Kmet extensively in his third Bears offense, along with the other tight ends, is less important at this point than getting the rookie quarterback up and running with his three elite wide receivers.

Then whatever else they can accomplish follows.

Cole Kmet's 2024 Bears on SI Fantasy Projection

Vitals: 6-foot-6, 260 pounds, fifth season.

Career: 211 receptions on 296 targets, 2,118 yards, 15 TDs, 10.0 yards per catch, 71.3% catch ratio.  T

2023: 73 receptions* on 90 targets, 719 yards*, 6 TDs, 9.8 yards per catch, 81.1% catch percentage.

Fantasy Scoring: Last year Kmet brought in 184.1 DraftKing points, 144.6 FanDual points and 108.1 standard league fantasy points. He averages 128.9 DraftKing, 101.5 FanDual and 75.15 in standard leagues.

Kmet's Bears On SI 2024 projection: 48 receptions 64 targets, 532 yards, 5 TDs, 11.1 yards per catch, 75% catch percentage

Michael Fabiano's SI 2024 fantasy ranking: 14th among tight ends in dynasty fantasy startup drafts.

*Career high

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Gene Chamberlain
GENE CHAMBERLAIN

BearDigest.com publisher Gene Chamberlain has covered the Chicago Bears full time as a beat writer since 1994 and prior to this on a part-time basis for 10 years. He covered the Bears as a beat writer for Suburban Chicago Newspapers, the Daily Southtown, Copley News Service and has been a contributor for the Daily Herald, the Associated Press, Bear Report, CBS Sports.com and The Sporting News. He also has worked a prep sports writer for Tribune Newspapers and Sun-Times newspapers.