Cole Kmet wasn’t bad in 2021. He showed considerable improvement from his forgettable rookie season, becoming the first tight end since Martellus Bennett in 2014 to top 600 yards receiving (612). One would think he’d be encouraged. That isn’t the case. While Kmet remains confident in the direction he is heading, the reality is he looks back on his second season with mostly frustration about the plays he missed rather than the ones he made.
During his talk with Bears media, he admitted that nothing ate at him more than his inability to score a single touchdown. In fairness, the team did only target him eight times in the red zone all season, but that isn’t a good enough excuse. Kmet knows he had opportunities. Two specific plays stand out the most to him. It wasn’t only because he couldn’t catch the ball but also his inadequate chemistry with Justin Fields.
“The one against San Fran against Warner in the end zone where honestly it was just a timing thing where Justin went in one place and I went the other, that’s something that I think we’re going to have figured out this year.
And then the same thing, there was one in Green Bay, a low ball that just skipped off the ground a bit. So those are the two that I look at that I wish I had back, and that’s really all I can look at and kind of assess myself on.”
Cole Kmet has worked like mad to correct this issue.
He’s spent tons of extra time working with Fields this offseason, trying to build the timing they failed to cement last year. The frustrating part is it wasn’t their fault. Matt Nagy and the coaching staff never gave them a chance to build it from the start. While Kmet mainly ran with the first-team offense in training camp, Fields was stuck on the second. They seldom got to work practices together.
Not until Andy Dalton went down with his knee injury in Week 2 did they start connecting more often. It should’ve improved from there, but problems continued to pop up, including injuries and inconsistent decision-making on who the starter was. Thus Cole Kmet never really meshed with Fields as he should’ve. With an entire offseason, training camp, and preseason ahead, that should be different in 2022.
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