Chicago Bears: 3 ways Cole Kmet is immediately NFL ready
By Ryan Heckman
1. Size and athleticism
There was an interesting nugget being thrown around on social media about Kmet’s size, athleticism and how it compares to other tight ends in recent NFL history. Back in 2000, NFL Combine results became public. Since then, there have been 48 tight ends who were both at least 6-foot-5 and weighed a minimum of 250 pounds.
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Only seven of those guys ran a faster 40-yard dash than Kmet, and three of them were Rob Gronkowski, Jason Witten and Jimmy Graham — that’s pretty good company.
Now, I won’t say speed is everything, but it absolutely helps. Kmet could afford to use that speed to get into better position blocking, and from there, hone in on those skills a bit more. But, for the purpose here, Kmet’s speed is actually pretty impressive.
The only other tight end in this year’s class who could compare to Kmet’s physical stature is Albert Okwuegbunam, who needs some work on his route running and a few other areas, too. Kmet was a unicorn in this draft.
Notice how Kmet’s physical abilities compare to Graham’s. That wasn’t an accident. Now, the Graham signing makes a lot more sense. Pace wanted a guy who has done it before, with a similar skillset, in order to mentor and teach Kmet early in his career.