Chicago Bears: Justin Fields and Cole Kmet Could Be a Big Connection

The Chicago Bears offense could be very dangerous if Justin Fields and Cole Kmet connect early.

The Chicago Bears made a concerted effort to boost the offense this offseason. General manager Ryan Pace overhauled the offensive line (and may continue to do so if recent reports are accurate), added to the wide receivers corps and running back unit, and added the franchise quarterback the team and its fans waited for decades to see.

The Bears signed free agent quarterback Andy Dalton to get under center in 2021. No, Dalton isn’t the franchise quarterback the Bears lacked (though he is an improvement over last season). He’ll be the bridge for the eventual guy, Justin Fields. The Bears moved up in the first round to draft the former Ohio State signal-caller.

Since Field’s arrival, Chicago went crazy. Fans are dying to finally see their team finally thrive at the quarterback spot. Fields gives them that hope. Now the only question is whether he takes over to start the season or at some other point of the season.

One way to make Fields feel at ease is having a good tight ends unit. Tight ends provide the quarterback big targets. That is especially helpful in the red zone. As a quarterback, you like to have a target as big as possible.

The Bears have two pretty good targets. They have Jimmy Graham, a future Hall of Famer. They also have second-year player Cole Kmet.

Yes, Graham has more days behind him than in front of him, but he showed last season that he still had something left in the tank. He had 456 yards and 8 touchdowns. Many people expected him to be a salary cap casualty this offseason but he’s still on the roster. That likely is because of his mentoring of Kmet.

Kmet was the Bears’ second-round pick in the 2020 draft. While he started out slowly, he became more involved as the season progressed and showed why the team was so high on him.

The FIelds-Kmet connection could be special

With Dalton and Graham basically playing mentor roles, that leaves Fields and Kmet connecting and giving the offense a boost. In addition to being a big target, Kmet also is an athletic player. He can make the contested catches and outwork defenders in the red zone. If he meshes well with Fields, it could be special.

This is another thing Graham could help Kmet with. He knows about connecting well with quarterbacks. He did some special things with Drew Brees and Russell Wilson. In addition, he also knows about not connecting with one. He never had the same relationship with Aaron Rodgers as he did with the other two and it showed on the field. That was the main reason why many felt his days were way behind him.

Graham could help Kmet understand what the quarterback wants and needs in his tight end. Kmet already showed he’s a quick learner. If he and Fields connect quickly, it’ll mean the world to the Chicago Bears offense.

People always talk about speed downfield opening up space underneath. That is very true. On the other hand, if the underneath targets play well, that gives the speed burners a chance to make plays downfield. Let’s say, for example, there is a short-yardage situation. The defense likely wants to cover the tight end or Allen Robinson. With the attention going there, someone like Darnell Mooney can shoot out and make a big play downfield. It’s an added wrinkle the Bears haven’t have in a while.

It will be interesting to see how Fields and Kmet work together when training camp begins in July. If they connect, we could see the start of a beautiful relationship with lots of catches, yards, touchdowns, and wins. The phrase “Fields complete to Kmet” could be a fan favorite for years to come.