We have discussed D.J. Moore. Now we focus on the pass catchers with other names. For this edition, I asked specific questions to my friends, as opposed to eliciting evaluations of individual players.
Was Cole Kmet misused in 2024: “Misused? No. Underused? I think so. I don’t think Kmet is some elite player at the position, but I know our coaches thought his presence, and Swift really, would have been perfect safety nets for a rookie QB. How they deployed him in the offense seemed like the right way to do it, but they just didn’t do it enough. But who knows what that staff was thinking. They clearly didn’t think Kmet should be a primary target.”
How would you describe Rome Odunze’s rookie year? “Underwhelming. Is that a coaching thing, or a player thing? It won’t take long to figure that out because Ben thinks he’s going to be a superstar in the league. And Ben is going to design a lot of that offense for him. I’d be buying stock in Rome right now.”
I know nothing about Luther Burden. What should I know? “Man, we debated him in the leadup to the draft. He was not easy on his coaches at Missouri. They needed to do some serious coddling, and we were concerned about the person, not the player. But I was not surprised the Bears took him because Ben is so confident, he thinks he can coach ANYBODY. Failing to the second round will probably be good for the kid because there will be less pressure, less attention him. And athletically, he’s a clean prospect. We saw some Deebo there.”
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What does this group of pass catchers lack? “Not a lot. They have size. They have speed. They are good after the catch. They’ve got multiple options now at tight end. They’ll be well coached. If the offensive line protects and the quarterback improves, hard not to see this passing game being really good.”
