Bears rookie Kmet embracing 'patience' as he awaits his turn
Cole Kmet never needed a GPS to find Halas Hall in Lake Forest.
It's one of the benefits to being drafted by your hometown team. The Bears rookie was already accustomed to Chicago and the North suburbs.
These first few weeks have been a learning process for the Lake Barrington native. He's played just over 30% of the Bears' offensive snaps in each of his first two professional games. He has 1 reception for 12 yards after making his first career catch last week against the New York Giants at Soldier Field.
Normally, a local guy like Kmet would've celebrated his first catch with his family at Soldier Field after the game.
With no fans in the stands, he instead has to settle for stopping in to see his family during the week.
"They were just freaking out because we've played two close ones so far," Kmet said. "So they were enjoying the thrills of that as well. Whenever I get home or whatever, if I see them during the week or whatnot, they'll just ask how I'm doing or whatever. We'll talk about the game here and there, and they're enjoying it. But they're just happy to see me once I come around every once in a while."
The Bears' tight ends were one of the highlights of training camp, with Kmet following in the footsteps of veteran Jimmy Graham. Graham caught a vital touchdown in the 17-point comeback against Detroit, but the tight ends have otherwise been fairly quiet in the passing game. The tight ends have combined for only five catches this season, and Graham has four of them.
Head coach Matt Nagy has complimented them on their blocking in the run game, which is a big reason why running back David Montgomery has found success.
"Check out some of the effort by Jimmy Graham in run-blocking and tell me what you think," Nagy said earlier this week. "But that part I like, along with Demetrius Harris and Cole Kmet and J.P. Holtz. We'll see how the tight end production goes in the pass game, but I'm happy with those guys."
The Bears have done a lot of running with multiple tight ends on the field. Eventually, that's going to open itself up to passing opportunities, too.
The way this offense looks now, that might not produce Travis Kelce-level production at tight end. But it also doesn't have to for the Bears to win games.
For Kmet, the speed of the game has been humbling. On Friday, he said that was the No. 1 realization for him, through two NFL games. In college, if he was late off a snap, he still might overpower a defender. That's not going to happen in the NFL.
Every detail has to be right.
"It takes a lot of patience," Kmet said. "Going from being the guy to being in a learning position right now with, obviously, two vets ahead of me, in terms of Demetrius and Jimmy, is something that I've got to learn to be patient with. Something that I'm fully embrace right now."
Nagy expects Kmet's offensive production to increase as the year goes on. He's also looking at it with a long lens, too, noting that it could be a game-to-game improvement, or it could be month-to-month, even season-to-season. It takes a long time for rookie tight ends to become acclimated. It's a complicated position to learn.
That's why the Bears brought in veterans like Graham and Harris. Kmet doesn't have to be "the guy" right away.
"This kid is the real deal," Nagy said. "He's got a very bright future ahead of him. But it's not going to be something where you start seeing a bunch of targets and catches and touchdowns all over the board. He fills a really good role for us in that position."
The 21-year-old Kmet is going to remain patient.
"I got a lot to learn still, got a lot of football to play and a lot of work throughout the process," Kmet said.