The primary storylines at Chicago Bears OTA practices a mostly the obvious type. How their two new quarterbacks in Andy Dalton and Justin Fields looked for one. Which veteran players were absent being the other. The latter seemed to dominate discussions after the first open practice what with all but one starter on defense not participating in drills and wide receiver Allen Robinson also sitting out. This took the spotlight off players who might be making strong first impressions. Cole Kmet being one of them.
Hints of this came courtesy of Adam Jahns of The Athletic. In his first OTA notebook, he was discussing the Fields situation. One person who is already impressed with the rookie is running back David Montgomery. While the athleticism of the new Bears quarterback is obvious, what has stood out to Montgomery is how easy leadership comes to the rookie.
“He’s a freakish athlete, to say the least,” running back David Montgomery said. “He already kind of carries that leader mantra that you rarely see in rookies that I know I didn’t have.”
Where it got somewhat interesting is what Jahns wrote next. From what he watched during practice, two players consistently stood out above others. One of them being the Bears’ 2nd round pick from last year.
Two offensive players who stood out throughout practice on Wednesday were tight end Cole Kmet and receiver Marquise Goodwin.
Obviously, it’s early to make assumptions.
That said, it is plenty encouraging to hear that Kmet is off to a strong start this offseason. His development is one of the vital components to the offense’s future success. Jimmy Graham turns 35-years old this year. He was meant to buy the Bears time as they hopefully developed Kmet into the player he should be. There is a long way to go, but it sounds like the 22-year old used the past few months wisely.
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Talent was never the concern with Kmet. At 6’6, he has plenty of size and strength mixed with adequate speed to be a standout “Y” tight end in the NFL. The issue was whether he’d learn to grasp the intricacies of route running and dissecting defensive coverages. This is the most difficult adjustment for young players at his position. Hence why tight ends usually take a year or two before they really start producing.
Cole Kmet emerging would make everything easier
Right now the Bears’ offense is lacking in proven playmakers. Allen Robinson is the best they have. Montgomery had a decent 2020 season. Graham was a nice red zone threat. Still, it wasn’t enough to scare NFL defenses most of the year. It would be a welcome sight if Kmet started to play at a high enough level that forced opponents to devote extra attention to him.
The key will be getting him the football more often. This was something the Bears tried to do towards the end of last season. After being targeted just eight times through his first nine games, Cole Kmet saw that number jump to 40 over the final eight.
It was clear the coaches were intent on getting him the football.
While he didn’t produce a tight of highlights, there were flashes of what he can do as a receiving threat. The question is can it be more than simple bootlegs, curls, and out routes? Can the Bears find him more often down the field? That is what they’re hoping the arrivals of Dalton and Fields will achieve.