Has Cole Kmet Really Become the Backup Tight End?
![Cole Kmet's role in the offense has yet to be determined but PFF thinks it's reduced based on one preseason game. Cole Kmet's role in the offense has yet to be determined but PFF thinks it's reduced based on one preseason game.](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,w_4500,h_2531,x_0,y_0/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/ImagnImages/mmsport/bear_digest/01j561wvs7wkz5wgnyhj.jpg)
One preseason game, and just two series at that, have led Pro Football Focus to conclude tight end Cole Kmet is not someone to take in a fantasy football league.
The same goes for Bears tight end Gerald Everett.
Caleb Williams said that the team has been repping what became this outstanding corner route completion to Cole Kmet out of boot, where Williams went all Matrix. pic.twitter.com/C45tj9b3Mb
— Doug Farrar ✍ (@NFL_DougFarrar) August 13, 2024
This much seemed obvious after free agency, although there is plenty to be said for red zone touchdowns in fantasy ball and either one could up point totals this way.
What PFF's Nathan Jahnke has concluded that seems rather shocking from his look at only 18 Bears offensive plays is Cole Kmet actually has become the backup tight end.
"Everett appears to be ahead of Cole Kmet in the Bears' tight end rotation," Jahnke writes, based on the usage of Bears tight ends in a preseason game for two series.
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"This situation is similar to the Seahawks over the last three seasons where no one was draftable," Jahnke added for the fantasy football audience.
This is understandable. With two tight ends who can catch passes behind three wide receivers and a running back who can do it, the tight end totals figure to be down for all Bears tight ends.
The Bears gym at Halas Hall is 🔥 pic.twitter.com/m2SrNUnmJs
— Just Another Year Chicago: Bears (@OfficialJAYCHI) August 4, 2024
However, his determination that Kmet is no longer No. 1 is something impossible to ascertain by looking at the personnel packages they trotted out for 18 plays in a preseason game. There is no game planning or defensive adjustment involved. The other personnel the Bears had available impacts this, as well.
In some ways, it's entirely possible Everett could get as many or more reps than Kmet based on given game plans and the amount of time the team is in passing personnel packages. But for now, there's no way to determine this short of reading the mind of coordinator Shane Waldron, who was Seattle's coordinator for three years before coming to the Bears. It's more likely there will be tight end 1 and 1A based on personnel package deployed.
The other conclusion Jahnke drew from the game is also premature, although probably inaccurate.
Jahnke calls the running back situation "jumbled." He states in his commentary that Travis Homer is going to be playing a role as the third-down back in the offense, which he traces back to the Seattle days for Waldron and Homer together.
Apparently, in Jahnke's mind, being on a team with Waldron in the past for both Homer and Everett means something more than it probably really does. The problem was Roschon Johnson went out with an injury earlier last week at practice and wasn't available. Johnson figures to be sharing third down in the regular season more with D'Andre Swift because both rate as good receivers.
I knew I wasn't crazy. @AlbertBreer had the weights of the Bears receivers last week in his column and he listed Keenan Allen at 230 pounds. I was shocked.
— Brendan Sugrue (@BrendanSugrue) August 12, 2024
With JT saying he looked slow in his Caleb breakdown, that had me thinking about his weight. https://t.co/v2bPD9jcxK pic.twitter.com/AranqHaFVS
Homer is a special teams player and an insurance policy at third-down running back. If Ian Wheeler continues showing out in practice and preseason the way he did during the fourth quarter of the Buffalo game, and proves he can handle the passing game, then Homer might not even have a place on the roster let alone a back rotation.
The role Homer is more likely to have if he is a receiving back, beyond replacing someone due to injury, is as a mop-up back in obvious passing situations.
I know it’s preseason and I haven’t been to training camp or anything but after watching the game a couple times and seeing some breakdowns Everett’s play is concerning to say the least.. https://t.co/CZ1I3axo84
— Bear Down (@DaBears_2) August 12, 2024
Twitter: BearsOnSI