Irish in the NFL: Cole Kmet is enjoying his second-season improvement
In what could blossom into a long and prosperous relationship, rookie Chicago Bears quarterback Justin Fields and his second-year tight end Cole Kmet are laying the groundwork this season to someday become one of the best offensive tandems in the NFL for years to come.
With the Bears still finding their offensive footing around a first-year signal-caller, Kmet — a standout tight end at Notre Dame from 2017-19 and a Chicagoland native — is becoming a stabilizing force and a go-to target who’s helping to flatten Fields’ learning curve.
In the Bears’ 29-27 loss to the Steelers Nov. 8, Kmet — the 2020 second-round pick of the Bears — recorded six receptions for a career-high 87 yards. And during a four-game stretch for the Bears dating back to Oct. 17 — all with Fields as the starter — Kmet had 18 receptions for 203 yards, not overwhelming numbers for an elite NFL tight end, but signs of a growing connection between a quarterback and receiver.
“As we’ve gotten more reps with Justin [Fields], things have just naturally been getting better, kind of having a feel for each other,” Kmet explained. “I think that is going to keep progressing as the year goes on.”
Through the first nine games this season, Kmet already had the same number of catches (28) and more receiving yards (284) than he did in 16 games as a rookie in 2020 when he tallied 28 for 243.
“Cole has taken that next step,” Bears head coach Matt Nagy said following Kmet’s performance against the Steelers. “He’s at a point where I think you’re starting to see more targets go his way. He’s making big catches.
“I love where he’s at. I love his mentality, and I think he’s going to keep growing.”
As a talented tight end and a gifted flame-throwing pitcher for Notre Dame, Kmet was affectionately known as “the freak” by his Irish teammates, and understandably so.
Carrying a 6-foot-6, 260-pound build, with a size 16.5 cleat and hands big enough to make a football disappear, Kmet is a physical marvel. Kmet vertically jumps more than 40 inches, and before the draft, he posted a 4.65 time in the 40-yard dash. Add to Kmet’s natural physical gifts a family lineage of athletic success, and it’s no surprise he’s becoming a budding NFL star.
Cole’s father, Frank Kmet, was a defensive tackle at Purdue from 1988-91 and a fourth-round draft pick of the Buffalo Bills. And the brother of Cole’s mother, Kandace, his uncle Jeff Zgonina spent 17 seasons as an NFL defensive lineman through the 1990s and 2000s.
Cole is a young and growing branch on the robust Kmet NFL family tree.
“All the hard work I have been putting in, it’s definitely nice to know that it is paying off,” Kmet said. “It’s exciting to know that I have a lot of progression left to come and a lot of opportunities ahead.”
----
• Learn more about our print and digital publication, Blue & Gold Illustrated.
• Watch our videos and subscribe to our YouTube channel.
• Sign up for Blue & Gold's news alerts and daily newsletter.
• Subscribe to our podcast on Apple Podcasts.
• Follow us on Twitter: @BGINews, @MikeTSinger, @PatrickEngel_, @tbhorka, @GregLadky, and @ToddBurlage.
• Like us on Facebook.