Will Cole Kmet have added fantasy value in 2022?

In the Yahoo Fantasy Football Forecast, Liz Loza and Andy Behrens look at the Chicago Bears tight end in his third NFL season

Video Transcript

ANDY BEHRENS: You know, I actually thought, when we were talking tight ends, you might bring up Cole Kmet. He's problematic for me is what I'll say. I see a lot of hype about him, a lot of hype about him. I would love to be able to join in.

He has not distinguished himself. Like, they've tried to make him a thing in the past.

LIZ LOZA: No. No, no.

ANDY BEHRENS: Granted, not with great quarterbacks. He's had long stretches where he gets decent target totals. They've thrown the ball to him in goal-to-go situations, in red zone situations. And to this point in his career-- and, as I say this, I can hear Matt Harmon in my head telling me that drops don't matter.

But he's not-- like, this is not some sticky-fingered tight end, right? Like, this is not the best hands in the business sort of tight end. I think he could be a thing.

I think there's a lot of targets available here. Granted, it's going to be, presumably, I think, a maybe slower-paced, run-heavy offense. But he could still see 90, 100, 110 targets, something like that. And that is really useful at the tight end position.

I just have not been-- he's not one of those guys that's really flashed for me in the past. And, obviously, I either watch or I rage-watch the Bears every week. And he just hasn't jumped out to me.

I can see the volume argument for Kmet. I'm probably-- there's almost always gonna be somebody who wants to reach for Kmet ahead of me, though. I will say that.

LIZ LOZA: So I love this cogent, fair, and balanced analysis. My issue with Kmet and not wanting to make him a thing is that I don't think that that's being fully fair. When we look at how Nagy decided to call a play, and then, when there was an end zone opportunity, it was Graham who got the snap, right? Like, there was a rotation, and Jimmy Graham caught 14 flipping balls last year, and three of them were touchdowns.

Like, I don't need to be a calculus major to understand what that ratio looks like. So I do think that Kmet-- it isn't a volume-- it is a volume argument. My fear, which I'm not hearing a lot of people talking about, is that, like, last year, we were all Super high on TJ Hockenson, which we can all agree is a better talent coming out of your Iowa, University of Iowa, right?

You know TJ Hockenson-- incredible talent, one of the first, like, I remember, oh, my god, he's a baby Gronk. He can do all the things, oh, why [INAUDIBLE]. And yet-- so we were excited, like, myself included, about him in Detroit because it was the volume argument.

And then defenses adjusted. So defenses--

ANDY BEHRENS: Yeah.

LIZ LOZA: --are gonna adjust. And if Kmet doesn't have the hands that even Hockenson has, what good is the volume if the efficiency is so mediocre? And I guess the answer is it doesn't matter because you're taking Kmet in double-digit rounds, maybe nine--

ANDY BEHRENS: Yeah.

LIZ LOZA: --maybe the ninth round if somebody really reaches right. But you were having to take Hockenson in the fourth or fifth. And so given the value, like, I have Kmet projected for 55 grabs, 550 yards, and five touchdowns. That's top 15 territory.

If I'm getting him in the 10th round, I'm OK with that. But I do think you make an excellent point about people being very excited about him for the third year running, second year running, and maybe oversupposing.