Brian Kelly's Comments on Cole Kmet Indicate the Bears Actually May Not Have Blew it for Once

The Philadelphia Eagles and Green Bay Packers confused all of us with their first- and second-round selections in the 2020 NFL Draft, and for good reason. But we often forget about the Chicago Bears, who spent the 43rd overall pick on Notre Dame tight end Cole Kmet. While he's a good player, the move didn't make much sense, due to the Bears already having nine tight ends on the roster already!

But Kmet's college head coach, Brian Kelly, silenced all of that negative talk, and gave his former tight end a glowing endorsement.

“What they’re getting is an athletic tight end that is going to impact their offense immediately,” Kelly said, via the Chicago Tribune. “He’s smart. He’s got the capabilities to get better and better as he continues to develop. Having a lot of tight ends on your roster is one thing. Having Cole Kmet, well, that’s another.

“I’ve had Travis Kelce (at Cincinnati), Tyler Eifert, Kyle Rudolph, Durham Smythe. I’ve had a number of tight ends that are doing exceedingly well and have been All-Pros in the NFL. Cole Kmet will be in line with all of those guys.”

Comparing Kmet to the likes of Kelce and Rudolph is more than enough to sell us on the draft selection. Say no more!

Kmet didn't make much of an impact in his first two seasons at Notre Dame, but he definitely broke out in his junior year, during which he caught 43 passes for 515 yards and 6 touchdowns in 10 games.

Throughout the pre-draft process, Kmet was leaps and bounds the best prospect at his position, but was projected to be taken in the second round. That's exactly what happened, as general manager Ryan Pace and head coach Matt Nagy agreed to draft the Illinois-native before the New England Patriots could get their hands on him.

Now, Kmet will serve as a security blanket of either Mitchell Trubisky or Nick Foles in 2020. Either way, expect the rookie to make a grand impact this upcoming season and beyond.