If anybody knows about the Matt Nagy offense better than anybody, it’s Travis Kelce. The All-Pro tight end worked with the Chicago Bears head coach for years in Kansas City. He made himself into a star working in a similar system the Chiefs have run under Andy Reid. So if anybody was qualified to help Cole Kmet better understand how to excel in it? That would be Kelce.

So it’s hardly a shock the second-year Bears tight end took his opportunity to work with him during the first annual Tight End University. An event organized by former Bears and Panthers tight end Greg Olsen down in Nashville, Tennessee meant to gather tight ends from around the NFL so they can work together and help each other get better. Kmet got to work with Olsen personally as well as San Francisco 49ers All-Pro George Kittle.

However, the best instructions he got came from Kelce.

That is a valuable piece of advice. It is so easy for young players to believe they must run a route exactly as they see it in a playbook. This is because that is how the coaches want it. However, this is the NFL. Doing it exactly like it’s drawn up only makes it way easier for defenders to know how to cover you. Creativity in route running is vital to success. The less the defender knows about what you’re going to do, the more likely it’ll work.

All that matters is that Kmet gets to the right spot at the right time and is open. As long as he remembers that, it won’t matter how exactly he ran the route. Kelce is a smart man. One with the ring and the accolades to back up his claims.

Cole Kmet knows exactly where he has to get better

He even said during the same press conference that he’s not worried about his blocking. That is something he already considers himself pretty good at. If he’s going to be taken seriously as a top tight end though? It will be through catching passes. That is where the Bears want him to improve. They feel he has the capability to be a genuine target that defenses must account for. He already has the size and the hands. Can he learn to get himself open more often?

He may not be the quickest or fastest at his position. Then again he doesn’t have to be. Rob Gronkowski posted nearly identical athletic numbers to Cole Kmet leading up to the draft back in 2010. He was also the same exact size and went just one pick earlier in terms of draft position. Yet he is a surefire Hall of Famer. Why? He used his physicality to full effect and then combined that with a full route running tree.

Nobody was able to stop him.

That is where Kmet is trying to get. That he understands the hurdles ahead is a really good thing. If he puts the advice he received from Kelce into practice? Then it won’t be long before he becomes a far bigger problem for defenses to deal with.