The 2020 NFL Draft was considered a weak one at tight end. In fact, the narrative surrounding this year's draft was that any team that selected a tight end before Round 3 would've been reaching.
Then came the Bears at No. 43 overall and their decision to draft Notre Dame's Cole Kmet. While Kmet was generally considered the top tight end in the class, there were still many in football media who believed the Bears picked him too early.
According to The Athletic's Dan Pompei, Chicago may have actually gotten a steal.
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"In a survey of 20 NFL front office men who evaluated tight ends in the draft," Pompei wrote, "only one said he didn’t have Kmet rated in the first two rounds of the draft. Six said they rated him in the first round. The other 11 had him rated right about where the Bears chose him."
The key takeaway here is that six front office executives had Kmet rated as a first-round pick. Maybe the Bears did, too. Remember, Chicago was rumored as one of the clubs trying to trade with the Bengals for the 33rd pick (the first selection of the second round). They'd only do that if they believed a quality first-round player had fallen into Day 2.
Was that player Kmet? Who knows?
Kmet's style of play is, admittedly, boring. He won't wow onlookers with highlight-reel plays, but that's not what the Bears need. They simply need a tight end who can threaten defenses as a viable weapon in the passing game. Kmet, at the very least, brings that to the table.
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And you never know. Maybe there's a chance he'll become one of the game's top players at this position. NBC Sports' Chris Simms did compare him to Rob Gronkowski, after all. While that comp may be a bit rich, it's proof that Kmet has a bunch of fans as he embarks on his pro career in Chicago.
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