NEWSLETTER
We’re living in a time and space in which it’s good to be an offensive player in the NFL. I would even go as far as to say this is a golden era of tight end play for the league. Which is why I found it interesting that George Kittle, Travis Kelce, and old friend Greg Olsen joined forces to create a TE summit.
Among the invitees is someone near and dear to the hearts of Bears fans:
.@ColeKmet is in! #uniTE pic.twitter.com/h0a9eCE5wK
— TEU (@te_university) May 19, 2021
Bears tight end Cole Kmet is confirmed by the official Twitter handle of TE University as being among the participants invited to the party. Others include Jonnu Smith, Kyle Pitts, Mark Andrews, Mike Gesicki, Zach Ertz, Noah Fant, and Darren Waller as among the players headed to Nashville to get in on the festivities. That’s plenty of good company for Kmet to be rubbing shoulders with this offseason.
Kmet, 22, was a Bears second-round pick in 2020. The Chicagoland area product caught 28 passes for 243 yards, and two touchdowns. It wasn’t a sparkling season by any means. But Kmet saw his snap share grow as the season progressed. Ideally, a late-season increase in snaps and an offseason of improvement would present a springboard opportunity for a second-year leap. And if TE U helps, then so be it.
I imagine TE University will be similar to other position-group offseason get-togethers. Kittle, Kelce, and Olsen (which sounds like a bad-ass law-firm now that I’m thinking about it) recruiting the league’s top talent to get together in one place to talk shop and help each other step their games up seems like a great idea. Like a fraternity, but with large humans who happen to be dual threat playmakers at an important offensive position in modern football. Who wouldn’t want to be a part of this? Especially now, when tight end importance is growing. And with this particular group of players. It doesn’t get much better than this group. And to think, it is still growing.
Even though Kmet’s rookie year output didn’t take the league by storm, it’s still good to see him invited. To me, that suggests there is a level of respect for the rising second-year player’s ability. That is to say nothing of his upside or potential. Kmet getting into his bag with some of the league’s best is one of those “can’t hurt, could help” things.
Here’s to Kmet joining in on the action and being in a position to help other developing tight ends at the 2022 summit.
