ClutchPoints
There are going to be a lot of eyes on the Chicago Bears this season. They are coming off a lackluster first season with Caleb Williams at quarterback, but a new coaching staff should make an immediate impact. Chicago brought in Ben Johnson to lead the team, and he hired a lot of great coaches to work under him. With their good coaching is going to come plenty of positional competitions.
Of course Williams will be the starting quarterback. Deandre Swift will most likely start at running back, and D.J. Moore will be the No. 1 wide receiver. Defensively, Jaylon Johnson, Kyler Gordon, and Tyrique Stevenson will be the cornerbacks, while Kevin Byard and Jaquan Brisker will man the safety positions.
Even though some positional groups are locked down, there is still one that has plenty of competition. That positional group is tight ends. Chicago will have to make a decision on who their starting tight end will be, but they have all of training camp to do so.
The Bears have plenty of talent at tight end heading into this year. Cole Kmet is their current projected starter, but he has been with the team for a few years.
Kmet was drafted in the second round of the 2020 NFL draft by the Bears. In his rookie season, the Notre Dame product only had 28 receptions. 2021 was not much better for him as he did not record a touchdown. However, in the last three seasons, Kmet has recorded 170 receptions, 1,737 yards, and 17 touchdowns. He has broken out a little bit, but there is still more to be desired.
The other tight end on the roster is Colston Loveland. The Bears shockingly took Loveland with the No. 10 pick in this year’s draft. The Michigan product was one of the best tight ends in college football, so it is not a huge surprise that he was taken with Ben Johnson’s first pick as a head coach.
At Michigan, Loveland had 56 receptions in 10 games played his final year at the school. He also had a career-best five receiving touchdowns. The tight end has a lot of talent, but he was dealing with some injury issues towards the end of the season. The injuries can be a reason for concern, but his talent alone makes him an elite player at the position.
As mentioned, the Bears will have some choices to make.
Cole Kmet does not do anything fantastic, but he does not do anything really bad. He ranked in the middle of the pack of all tight ends in both pass catching and blocking, per PFF. His leadership as a veteran tight end will not go unnoticed, either. Along with that, Kmet should really benefit from having a new play caller.
Ben Johnson was famous for his bold play calling in Detroit, and the Bears are going to be better because of it. Kmet...
