Player
Cole Kmet
TE
Career-totals snapshots anchor a player's identity. Kmet was the Bears' 2020 R2 #43 pick and has stayed in Chicago through three head coaches and three primary QBs (Trubisky/Foles, Fields, Williams). The 294/2,986/22 line establishes him as the franchise's most durable modern TE — and the baseline against which his 2025 Ben Johnson / Caleb Williams season is measured.
6-year career, all in Chicago. 294 receptions, 2,986 receiving yards, 22 TDs through 2025. The CHI TE anchor across 3 QB eras.
MilestoneCareer regular-season totals
| Stat | Total |
|---|---|
| Games | 100 |
| Receptions | 294 |
| Receiving Yards | 2,986 |
| Receiving TDs | 22 |
| Y/R | 10.16 |
Why it matters. Career-totals snapshots anchor a player's identity. Kmet was the Bears' 2020 R2 #43 pick and has stayed in Chicago through three head coaches and three primary QBs (Trubisky/Foles, Fields, Williams). The 294/2,986/22 line establishes him as the franchise's most durable modern TE — and the baseline against which his 2025 Ben Johnson / Caleb Williams season is measured.
His 2023 73-catch, 719-yard year was a career high. 7 TDs in 2022 was a separate volume peak.
TrendKmet year-by-year
| Year | Rec | Yds | TD |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 31 | 259 | 2 |
| 2021 | 60 | 612 | 0 |
| 2022 | 50 | 544 | 7 |
| 2023 | 73 | 719 | 6 |
| 2024 | 47 | 474 | 4 |
| 2025 | 33 | 378 | 3 |
Receiving yards by year
| Season | Yards |
|---|---|
| 2020 | 259 |
| 2021 | 612 |
| 2022 | 544 |
| 2023 | 719 |
| 2024 | 474 |
| 2025 | 378 |
Why it matters. Year-by-year arc shows Kmet's volume rose sharply in the Fields era (60+ catches each year from 2021-2023) then dipped under Caleb Williams in 2024-2025 as Chicago integrated DJ Moore, Rome Odunze, and Keenan Allen. The dip isn't decline — it's target redistribution. Useful frame for projecting his ceiling in Ben Johnson's 2025 offense.
His career has spanned 3 QB eras: Trubisky/Foles (2020), Justin Fields (2021-2023), Caleb Williams (2024-).
SplitKmet by QB era
| Era | Years | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Trubisky/Foles | 2020 | Rookie year |
| Justin Fields | 2021-2023 | Peak production |
| Caleb Williams | 2024-2025 | New offense |
Why it matters. QB-era splits are the most useful TE context: tight ends live on quarterback chemistry and scheme. Kmet's peak overlapped exactly with Fields (heavy play-action, intermediate routes). The Caleb Williams era brings a rookie franchise QB and 2025's Ben Johnson hire — a Lions-style scheme that historically targets TEs (Sam LaPorta) — making Kmet a sleeper bounce-back candidate even on lower current volume.
His 22 career TDs lead the entire 2020 TE draft class — more than double the next-best.
Rare2020 draft TE class — career receiving TDs
| Player | Career TDs | Career Yds |
|---|---|---|
| Cole Kmet | 22 | 2,986 |
| Colby Parkinson | 15 | 1,508 |
| Adam Trautman | 10 | 1,234 |
| Harrison Bryant | 10 | 970 |
| Albert Okwuegbunam | 4 | 582 |
Why it matters. Draft-class peer comparison isolates pure development outcome — same era, same rules, same evaluation cycle. Kmet, the highest-drafted TE in 2020 (R2 #43), has delivered on the pick: he leads his class in receptions, yards, and TDs by a wide margin. That separation justifies the Bears' multi-year commitment and frames him as a clear hit relative to his peers.
His 73 catches in 2023 ranked top-10 among NFL TEs that year.
Comparison2023 TE receptions leaders
| Player | Tm | Rec |
|---|---|---|
| Travis Kelce | KC | 93 |
| Sam LaPorta | DET | 86 |
| T.J. Hockenson | MIN | 95 |
| Cole Kmet | CHI | 73 |
Why it matters. Top-10 at any position is the rough cutoff between starter and difference-maker. Kmet hit it in 2023 despite Chicago finishing 7-10 with Fields under center for most of the year — meaning his volume wasn't game-script inflation, it was earned target share. That's the strongest evidence of his standalone ceiling independent of QB.
His 2021 60-catch, 0-TD season is one of only 2 such TE seasons since 1999.
Anomaly60+ rec, 0 receiving-TD TE seasons since 1999
| Player | Season | Rec | TDs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cole Kmet | 2021 | 60 | 0 |
| Tyler Conklin | 2023 | 61 | 0 |
Why it matters. Tight ends earn their pay in the red zone — a TE with 60+ catches and 0 TDs is almost a contradiction in modern football. Kmet's 2021 line is the kind of split that reveals scheme dysfunction (Bears 6-11, Matt Nagy's last year, no red-zone TE designs) more than player limitation. He scored 7 TDs the very next season, confirming the anomaly was contextual.
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