PHILADELPHIA - The Chicago Bears taking a tight end in the first round possibly opened the door for them to trade Cole Kmet. Could the Eagles be in play if that’s the case?
Kmet may very well be expendable after the Bears selected Michigan tight end Colston Loveland with the 10th overall pick in the NFL Draft on Thursday night.
The Eagles are believed to be in need of a tight end with Dallas Goedert on the trade block, and it could be Kmet.
A second-round pick of the Bears out of Notre Dame in 2020, the 43rd player taken overall, Kmet had the best season of his career two years ago when he had 73 catches for 710 yards and six touchdowns. Last year, those numbers dipped a bit – 47-474 with four scores. For his career, the 6-6, 260-pound Kmet has 19 touchdowns with 258 catches for 2,592 yards in 84 games with 76 starts.
New head coach Ben Johnson has his tight end now. Kmet was a pick of the previous regime, which thought enough of him to give him a contract extension on July 26, 2023. It was a four-year, $50 million deal with $32.793 guaranteed. His $9.9M salary is already guaranteed, with that perk kicking in in March.
His salary-cap charge this year and next year is $11.6M. It’s not much cheaper than Goedert’s cap hit, but Kmet is four years younger. Kmet’s run blocking has improved through the years as well.
The draft is deep at the tight end spot, with some mock drafts having LSU tight end Mason Taylor going to Philly with the 32nd pick. Several tight ends could be available on second- and third-days, such as Miami’s Elijah Arroyo, Texas’s Gunner Helm, Bowling Green’s Harold Fannin, Jr., and others. If the Eagles don’t get one, they could explore Kmet.
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