Any sports fan who follows the NFL knows the impact Caleb Williams, the number 1 overall 2024 draft pick, has provided for the Chicago Bears. Fans of the blue and orange finally feel they have a quarterback that is worthy of the 21st-century, pass-happy league, and their 5-2 start in 2024 confirms their opinion. However, most supporters for the Monsters of the Midway may not know, or, if they do realize it would be a bit embarrassed to learn, that their team has never had a quarterback throw for over 4,000 yards nor thrown more than 30 touchdown passes in a single season; Erik Kramer’s 3,838 passing yards and 29 touchdowns in 1995 are the franchise’s high water marks.
With Williams, Bear fans have high hopes. However, another young player has stepped up to assist Williams in Chicago’s resurgence, and that vital piece hopes to add to 2024’s promising beginning.
COLE KMET PROVIDES STABILITY FOR CHICAGO BEARS OFFENSE…
When the Chicago Bears commenced the 2024 NFL, tight end Cole Kmet was not a crucial option in their offense; in their season opener against the Tennessee Titans, Kmet played only 27 snaps out of the team’s total of 56, which compared with veteran Gerald Everett’s 34 snaps, left Kmet on the sidelines for more than half of the time.
Offensive coordinator Shane Waldron admitted that Kmet needed to be on the field more. Said Waldron: “He has done nothing but the right thing ever since I’ve been around him. So, that’s more on us, starting with me, getting the reps a little bit more balance.”
Since that opening game, Waldron has certainly heeded his own advice.
After catching one pass (from his only target) against the Titans, Kmet caught 10 of the 11 passes thrown his way by Williams in the Bears’ 21-16 loss to the Indianapolis Colts just two weeks later.
His most recent game, a 35-16 drubbing of the Jacksonville Jaguars on October 13 in London, was his most all-around effort to date. Kmet caught all five of his targets, and he converted two of them for touchdowns.
To date, Kmet’s 26 catches rank second on the team, trailing only lead wide receiver target DJ Moore’s 31 receptions. Both Kmet and Moore lead the team with three scoring grabs.
…AND SPECIAL TEAMS?
Not only has his role in the offense increased over the past six weeks, Kmet was named NFC Special Teams Player of the Week for his versatility during the game. Near the end of the first quarter, long snapper Scott Daly suffered a knee injury and was almost immediately ruled out of the game. Kmet is the designated backup because of his experience long-snapping in high school, but no one ever realistically thought he would have to dust off those skills.
Said Kmet: “HT (special teams coach Richard Hightower) came up to me and said, ‘hey, Scott’s down,'” Kmet recalled. “At first I’m like, ‘Tyler Scott? What does that have to do with me?’ And then he’s like, ‘No Scott Daly’s down. You gotta go snap.’ I’m like ‘oh [shoot.]'”
Performing this double-duty became historic; Kmet became the first NFL player since 2005 to catch a TD pass and snap the extra point after.
Kmet’s growing impact is not lost on his Chicago Bears teammates. Caleb Williams had high praise for his full-time tight end who moonlighted in his long-snapping role.
“Cole’s unbelievable,” Williams told NFL Network reporter Stacey Dales after the game. “After he scored his touchdown, that was the first thing we came to the sideline and celebrated about, was him snapping the ball. Obviously, those points, those [extra] points go a long way in games like this. He did a great job obviously playing tight end and catching the ball, blocking, but being able to go out there and snap the ball for our holder and kicker to be able to put it through is amazing.”
THE START OF SOMETHING SIGNIFICANT FOR THE CHICAGO BEARS?
Will Cole Kmet make fans of Da Bears forget about Mike Ditka? Unlikely, but this current tight end version and his vast athleticism, along with a young cast of talented characters, has Chicago Bears’ fans all along Lakeshore Drive and across Illinois believing their four-year playoff drought will be a thing of the past.
