Justin Fields' breakout over the last month of the season has been the obvious headline for a Chicago Bears team still a year or two away from legitimate Super Bowl contention. But he isn't the only young core player enjoying an emergence as of late.
Tight end Cole Kmet is beginning to produce like the player he was projected to be as a second-round pick from Notre Dame in 2020. After not scoring a touchdown in the 2021 season and each of the Bears' first seven games this year, Kmet has exploded for five scores in the last three games.
Kmet's chemistry with Fields has been one of the more encouraging developments in the passing game this year. He enters Week 11's showdown with the Atlanta Falcons with 23 catches for 274 yards and five touchdowns; he's totaled more than half of his production -- 13 catches for 158 yards -- over the last four games.
"Cole is a special guy," Bears coach Matt Eberflus said Wednesday. "He's energy, he's enthusiasm. He brings light into a room. He's everything we stand for."
Cole Kmet becoming more than just a blocking tight end
Cole Kmet AGAIN pic.twitter.com/Q6MdoeqTrc
— Bears Talk (@NBCSBears) November 13, 2022
Cole Kmet doesn't always look pretty running routes, and he isn't the kind of special athlete who will separate from defenders on every snap. But he's a darn good football player whose hard work and attention to detail are finally paying off.
As his relationship with Justin Fields continues to build, so will the stats he puts up on Sundays.
“Being able to have a guy like Justin, like you don’t know (if he’s going to) run or pass, that’s a big deal for me,” Kmet said this week. “All the blocking I do in-line and being able to release off of that and do some things off of the runs we have has really helped me out a lot, too. And then you just get good matchups against guys. I’m 6-6 going up against a DB body. That’s usually going to turn out pretty well, I think.”
