Criticizing a draft pick after just four games is par for the course these days from football fans. It’s amazing to hear people say what a tragic mistake it was for the Chicago Bears to draft Colston Loveland barely a month into the season. This comes despite clear evidence that the young tight end has significant pass-catching ability. It is merely that his numbers haven’t been otherworldly, and then he missed Sunday’s game in Las Vegas with a minor hip issue. Bust. It’s over—wasted pick.
Aside from that being ridiculous, it also didn’t take long for those same people to get a taste of why the Bears took Loveland in the first place. Cole Kmet is a good football player. He does several things well. Still, the game against the Raiders showed why he has never quite blossomed as a true go-to target in the passing game. He caught only three of nine passes thrown his way, including a brutal drop and another he probably should’ve had along the sidelines. Add two false starts, and he didn’t exactly erase memories of Loveland.
Kmet had one dropped pass in the game and he would tell you it wasn’t his best showing as he was also called for two false starts, an issue that has plagued the offense as a whole…
…What also stood out: Kmet was targeted nine times by Caleb Williams, his highest total in 10 games dating to last season. He made only three catches for 46 yards (with a team-long 29-yarder) but he has been highly productive as a target in the past.
Ben Johnson knew what he was doing by drafting Colston Loveland.
Make no mistake. The Bears’ head coach scouted the entire roster before taking the job. He knew what Kmet could and couldn’t do. Taking Colston Loveland 10th overall was a clear message that he didn’t think the Bears were strong enough at that position. Is that cold? Sure. This is the NFL, though. Almost everybody is replaceable. You either produce at a high level or eventually get supplanted by someone the team thinks can. Kmet has been fortunate so far that the team hasn’t geared game plans to get Loveland more involved. There is a strong possibility that a change is coming out of the bye, especially after what happened in Las Vegas.
Either way, fans would do well to remember that the pick wasn’t made for instant gratification. Chicago needed to have a long-term outlook with Loveland. Watching Kmet served as a reminder of why looking at the big picture is so important.
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