Cole

Kmet

Kmet found himself on the receiving end of a miraculous fourth-down throw by Caleb Williams to keep the Bears’ season alive with 18 seconds left in the fourth quarter. Kmet’s score would force the game into overtime, but the Bears came up short in the extra frame after the Rams made the most of a Caleb Williams interception on the Bears’ only drive. Kmet’s numbers have now fallen off in back-to-back years. After going for 73-719-6 in 2023, the sixth-year vet saw his fewest targets (45), receptions (30), and receiving yards (347) since his rookie year this season, and found the end zone just twice. As far as his work as a pass-catcher is concerned, Kmet took a backseat to rookie Colston Loveland this season, and now looks expendable heading into this offseason despite signing a four-year contract extension in 2023. Per OverTheCap, the Bears can release Kmet for a dead cap hit of just $3.2 million if the team makes him a pre-June 1 cut. A post-June 1 cut would carry a $1.6 million dead cap hit. Kmet will turn 27 next season and could have plenty to offer another team as a starter should he become available.

He upgraded to a full practice on Thursday and would appear to be on the optimistic side of questionable after practicing all week. Kmet told reporters that he will play. Normally his presence is a sign to dial back expectations for Colston Loveland in fantasy, but it’s possible the Bears could use a ton of two tight-end looks in Week 16 with both Luther Burden and Rome Odunze ruled out. Loveland will be a playable low-end TE1, while Kmet is on the TE2 line at this point.

Kmet was limited yesterday as well. We fully expected him to suit up for Saturday’s game versus the Packers. With Rome Odunze and Luther Burden likely to miss Week 16, expect a heavy dose of 12-personnel from Chicago’s offense. That will keep Kmet on the edge of the TE2 ranks this week.

Kmet continues to be a thorn in Coleston Loveland’s side rather than a standalone fantasy option. The 26-year-old tight end hasn’t played ahead of his counterpart in about a month, but the three or so targets he gets every game is noteworthy. It’s just not enough for him to be on the fantasy radar in Week 16 against the Packers.

Loveland continues to split time with Cole Kmet, which couldn’t be more frustrating for fantasy managers given the difference in production lately. Coming off a game with four catches, 29 yards and a touchdown against the Packers, Loveland had another four catches for 63 yards. Kmet caught just 2-of-4 targets. Loveland is stuck in TE2 purgatory until Kmet is fully phased out.

Kmet got loose on a Caleb Williams scramble drill in the third quarter. Williams bought time and threw a back-shoulder pass to Kmet, who reeled in the throw with a fantastic grab for a gain of 26 yards. He nearly flipped the matchup on Chicago’s final offensive play of the night. Williams scrambled to his left and had Kmet open in the end zone on fourth down. He threw a duck well short of Kmet that was snagged by Green Bay for a game-losing pick. Kmet is splitting reps with Colston Loveland and the rookie has shown far more juice this year. Kmet will remain off the fantasy radar for Week 15 versus the Browns.

Kmet put the game away for the Bears as Caleb Williams connected on a beautiful lob with the former Notre Dame tight end to give Chicago a 24-9 lead in the middle of the fourth. The 26-year-old was not involved in the Week 12 victory over the Steelers, but led Chicago in receiving -= faint praise given the receiving total listed above, to be sure — and tying for third in targets. Kmet is still at best a low-end TE2 for Week 14 against the Packers.

Kmet’s second quarter catch was his only official target, though he had another look nullified by penalty. Although he’s still running routes and playing plenty of critical snaps, Kmet has fallen far behind Colston Loveland in the Bears’ targets battle up the seam. With bye weeks soon coming to a close, Kmet isn’t going to find himself in the top-24 mix.

Kmet played ahead of rookie TE Colston Loveland. He ran 26 routes, compared to 21 routes for Loveland, in a Bears offense that has increased its usage of two tight end sets in recent weeks. Loveland caught three of his four targets for 40 yards against Minnesota. Coming into Week 11, Kmet had had four straight games with fewer than three targets. He’s only a deep-league fantasy option for now.

The efficient Loveland continues to be a tertiary pass catcher in the Bears’ run-heavy offense. He ran 21 routes in Week 11 to 26 routes for Cole Kmet, who had two catches for 45 yards on five targets. When Kmet is healthy and in the lineup, Loveland is hardly playable in 12-team leagues. Loveland has 15 receptions over Kmet’s past five healthy outings. He’ll be a desperation streaming play in Week 12 against the Steelers.