Cole Kmet

Cole Kmet
refer to caption
Kmet in 2023
No. 85 – Chicago Bears
Position:Tight end
Personal information
Born: (1999-03-10) March 10, 1999 (age 25)
Lake Barrington, Illinois, U.S.
Height:6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
Weight:260 lb (118 kg)
Career information
High school:St. Viator (Arlington Heights, Illinois)
College:Notre Dame (2017–2019)
NFL draft:2020 / round: 2 / pick: 43
Career history
Roster status:Active
Career NFL statistics as of Week 7, 2024
Receptions:237
Receiving yards:2,407
Receiving touchdowns:18
Stats at Pro Football Reference

Cole Kmet (born March 10, 1999) is an American professional football tight end for the Chicago Bears of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Notre Dame, and was drafted by the Bears in the second round of the 2020 NFL draft.

Early life

Kmet attended St. Viator High School in Arlington Heights, Illinois. He played baseball and football in high school.[1] As a senior in football, he had 48 receptions for 773 yards and four touchdowns. Kmet played in the 2017 U.S. Army All-American Bowl.[2][3] He committed to the University of Notre Dame to play college football.[4]

College career

Football

As a true freshman at Notre Dame in 2017, Kmet played in all 13 games and had two receptions for 14 yards. As a sophomore in 2018, he played in 11 games and had 15 receptions for 162 yards. Kmet took over as the starting tight end his junior year in 2019.[5] He missed the first three games of the season due to a broken collarbone.[6] In November, he announced that he would return to Notre Dame for his senior season rather than enter the 2020 NFL draft.[7][8]

On January 2, 2020, Kmet announced he would forgo his senior season at Notre Dame and would enter the 2020 NFL Draft.[9]

College football statistics

Year Team Games Receiving
GP GS Rec Yds Avg Lng TD
2017 Notre Dame 13 0 2 14 7.0 11 0
2018 Notre Dame 11 7 15 162 10.8 24 0
2019 Notre Dame 11 11 43 515 12.0 37 6
Career 35 18 60 691 11.5 37 6

Baseball

Kmet also played baseball at Notre Dame.[10] As a freshman in 2018, Kmet appeared in 26 games as a relief pitcher and made one start. He finished the season 2–5 with a 5.05 earned run average (ERA), 39 strikeouts and a team-leading eight saves.[11] As a sophomore in 2019, Kmet appeared in eight games with one start, before suffering an arm injury.[12] He finished the season 0–2 with a 2.89 ERA and 27 strikeouts.

Professional career

Pre-draft

Pre-draft measurables
Height Weight Arm length Hand span 40-yard dash 10-yard split 20-yard split 20-yard shuttle Three-cone drill Vertical jump Broad jump
6 ft 5+3⁄4 in
(1.97 m) 		262 lb
(119 kg) 		33 in
(0.84 m) 		10+1⁄2 in
(0.27 m)		 4.70 s 1.65 s 2.77 s 4.41 s 7.44 s 37.0 in
(0.94 m)		 10 ft 3 in
(3.12 m)
All values from NFL Combine[13][14]

Considered a top tight end prospect for the 2020 NFL Draft, CBS Sports ranked him as the best tight end in the draft, while Pro Football Focus ranked him as the second-best. He was projected as a second-round pick.[15][16]

2020 season

The Chicago Bears selected him in the second round with the 43rd overall pick, which was previously acquired from the Las Vegas Raiders along with Khalil Mack as part of the trade that sent two first-round picks (Josh Jacobs and Damon Arnette) to the Raiders.[17] He signed a four-year rookie contract with the team on July 21.[18]

Kmet began his rookie season primarily as a blocker.[19] In Week 2 against the New York Giants, he recorded his first NFL reception with a 12-yard catch,[20] followed by his first touchdown four games later against the Carolina Panthers on a nine-yard score in the 23–16 victory.[21]

2021 season

Kmet appeared in all 17 games for the Bears and caught 60 passes for 612 yards during the 2021 season.[22]

2022 season

Bears offensive coordinator Luke Getsy was optimistic about Kmet, who did not catch a touchdown pass in 2021. He commented on Kmet's versatility stating, "You talk about a guy that we hope can do a lot of different things. We’ve lined him up wide. We've let him do some routes outside. We've brought him in tight. We've put him in line and made him block the big boys up front too and I think the cool part about him is that he can do all of that stuff really well."[23] During the 2022 season, Kmet recorded 50 receptions for 544 yards and seven touchdowns.[24] He led the Bears in receptions, receiving touchdowns, and receiving yards.[25]

2023 season

On July 26, 2023, Kmet signed a four-year, $50 million contract extension with the Bears.[26][27] He appeared in all 17 games for the Bears and finished the season with 73 receptions for 719 yards and six touchdowns.[28]

2024 season

On October 13, 2024, against the Jacksonville Jaguars, Kmet had 5 receptions for 70 yards and 2 touchdowns. In the same game, Kmet also snapped six long snaps as the emergency long snapper after starter Scott Daly suffered a knee injury, uniquely earning him NFC Special Teams Player of the Week.[29][30]

NFL career statistics

Regular season

Year Team Games Receiving
GP GS Rec Yds Avg Lng TD
2020 CHI 16 9 28 243 8.7 38 2
2021 CHI 17 17 60 612 10.2 25 0
2022 CHI 17 17 50 544 10.9 50 7
2023 CHI 17 17 73 719 9.8 53 6
2024 CHI 12 11 42 448 10.7 31 3
Career 79 71 253 2,566 10.1 53 18

Postseason

Year Team Games Receiving
GP GS Rec Yds Avg Lng TD
2020 CHI 1 1 3 16 5.3 9 0
Career 1 1 3 16 5.3 9 0

Personal life

Kmet's father Frank Kmet was drafted in 1992 but never played in an NFL game. His uncle Jeff Zgonina played in the NFL.[31]

References

  1. ^ Hansen, Eric (June 2, 2017). "Future Notre Dame TE Cole Kmet has double vision on football, baseball". Notre Dame Insider. Retrieved June 1, 2023.
  2. ^ Smith, Cam (October 5, 2016). "Cole Kmet relishes being first U.S. Army All-American from his school". USA TODAY High School Sports. Retrieved June 1, 2023.
  3. ^ "U.S. Army All-American Bowl appearance suits St. Viator's Kmet". Daily Herald. October 5, 2016. Retrieved June 1, 2023.
  4. ^ Skrbina, Paul (October 2, 2015). "St. Viator junior tight end commits to Notre Dame". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved June 1, 2023.
  5. ^ Berardino, Mike (October 3, 2019). "Product of a football family, a heartfelt talk brought Notre Dame's Cole Kmet back to the sport". Indianapolis Star. Retrieved June 1, 2023.
  6. ^ James, Tyler (September 26, 2019). "Healthy TE Cole Kmet finally gets chance to live up to hype at Notre Dame". Notre Dame Insider. Retrieved October 22, 2020.
  7. ^ Shepkowski, Nick (November 13, 2019). "Notre Dame Football: Cole Kmet Says He's Staying". Fighting Irish Wire. Retrieved June 1, 2023.
  8. ^ Sinn, Dylan (November 13, 2019). "Cole Kmet, Liam Eichenberg plan to return in 2020". Fort Wayne Journal Gazette. Retrieved June 1, 2023.
  9. ^ Driskell, Bryan (January 2, 2020). "Tight End Cole Kmet To Declare For The NFL Draft". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved June 1, 2023.
  10. ^ Litman, Laken (May 3, 2018). "Jeff Samardzija's advice to Cole Kmet, the next great dual-sport athlete at Notre Dame". Indianapolis Star. Retrieved June 1, 2023.
  11. ^ Pope, LaMond (August 13, 2018). "Cole Kmet's full focus is back on football after stint with Notre Dame baseball team". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved June 1, 2023.
  12. ^ Karels, Carter (March 25, 2019). "Two-sport athlete Cole Kmet out indefinitely for Notre Dame baseball team". Notre Dame Insider. Retrieved June 1, 2023.
  13. ^ "Cole Kmet Combine Profile". NFL.com. Retrieved March 2, 2020.
  14. ^ "2020 Draft Scout Cole Kmet, Notre Dame NFL Draft Scout College Football Profile". draftscout.com. Retrieved August 20, 2022.
  15. ^ "2020 NFL Draft Prospect Rankings: Tight ends". CBSSports.com.
  16. ^ Renner, Michael (April 12, 2020). "2020 NFL Draft Position Rankings: Tight Ends | College Football and NFL Draft". PFF. Retrieved April 24, 2020.
  17. ^ Seligman, Andrew (April 25, 2020). "Bears open draft by taking TE Cole Kmet, CB Jaylon Johnson". Yahoo! Sports. Associated Press. Archived from the original on May 6, 2020. Retrieved April 25, 2020.
  18. ^ Mayer, Larry (July 21, 2020). "Bears sign all seven of their 2020 draft picks". Chicago Bears. Retrieved July 21, 2020.
  19. ^ Chamberlain, Gene (October 16, 2020). "Cole Kmet's Progress Measured by More than Catches". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved October 18, 2020.
  20. ^ "Kmet hauls in first career catch". Chicago Bears. September 20, 2020. Retrieved October 18, 2020.
  21. ^ Finley, Patrick (October 18, 2020). "Bears TE Cole Kmet catches first career TD". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved October 18, 2020.
  22. ^ Lieser, Jason (August 5, 2022). "Bears need 'rock star' performance from TE Cole Kmet". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved January 10, 2023.
  23. ^ Shapiro, Alex (August 5, 2022). "Why Bears feel Kmet on brink of breakout season". NBC Sports Chicago. Retrieved January 10, 2023.
  24. ^ "Cole Kmet 2022 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved June 1, 2023.
  25. ^ Mayer, Larry (August 5, 2022). "Jones continues to produce impact plays in finale / Quick Hits". Chicago Bears. Retrieved January 10, 2023.
  26. ^ Patra, Kevin (July 26, 2023). "Bears TE Cole Kmet agrees to four-year, $50 million contract extension". NFL.com. Retrieved July 26, 2023.
  27. ^ Mayer, Larry (July 26, 2023). "Roster Move: Bears ink Cole Kmet to contract extension". ChicagoBears.com. Retrieved July 26, 2023.
  28. ^ "Cole Kmet 2023 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved July 6, 2024.
  29. ^ Hajduk, Gabby (October 13, 2024). "Cole Kmet does it all for Bears in London". Chicago Bears. Retrieved October 15, 2024.
  30. ^ Alper, Josh (October 16, 2024). "Cole Kmet named NFC special teams player of the week". NBCSports. Retrieved October 16, 2024.
  31. ^ Narang, Bob (January 11, 2020). "St. Viator grad Cole Kmet makes difficult decision to declare for NFL draft". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved January 23, 2020.