Let’s be honest — we’ve all been in the situation where we’re drafting our fantasy football team, taking the best quarterbacks, running backs, and wide receivers off the board, but then realize that we forgot to get our tight end. We are left scrambling to find the perfect sleeper. Unless you have Travis Kelce or the occasional stud, like Mark Andrews, many people don’t view the tight end position as a priority. But, I think that the breakout guy for this year that can save us is relatively clear. It’s Cole Kmet.
Cole Kmet is primed to break out in 2022, and you’ll be seeing me buy into him almost everywhere. Kmet heads into the offseason as one of Justin Fields’ more familiar targets. He’s the #2 pass option behind Darnell Mooney.
After Fields became the quarterback last season and developed chemistry with his targets, Cole Kmet easily looked more confident. Several beat reporters marked that Fields made him a better player on the field, and the stats reflect that.
From Week 6 onward (2 weeks after Fields was named the starting QB), Kmet posted 9.1 points per game in the 8 games that Fields started. More importantly, he saw 4+ receptions in 7 of those 8 games. He finally came out of his shell and contributed more as a pass catcher.
Last season, Kmet also caught 60 passes but had ZERO touchdowns. Crazy right? But it’s even crazier when you look further into his stats. The Bears were 2nd in the league with 42% of their red zone targets going to TEs, and Kmet himself had a 22% share of that last season. Now, with Jimmy Graham gone, Kmet’s target share should only increase and help him find the end zone this year, especially with Fields under center as his lack of getting to the pay dirt is purely unsustainable.
Now, Kmet has a huge opportunity to improve his totals this season. His expected volume will undoubtedly increase, and his drop problem that Bears fans are so frustrated about should be fixed. Historically, players with these issues get better at handling them every single year. I mean, just look at Diontae Johnson, for example.
So, when you find yourself realizing in the late rounds that you still haven’t selected a tight end, do yourself a favor and invest in some Kmet stock this season!
