Photo: U.S. Air Force video by Staff Sgt. Ryan C. Grossklag, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons²

Cole Kmet

Tight End, Chicago Bears · #85.

Player facts

Team: Chicago Bears
Position: Tight End
Number: 85
Born: Mar 10, 1999 (age 27)
Birthplace: Lake Barrington, IL, USA
Height: 6' 6"
Weight: 257 lbs
College: Notre Dame
Experience: 7 seasons
Status: Active

Stats

2026 Offense

	REC	TGTS	YDS	AVG	TD	LNG	FD	CAR	YDS	AVG	LNG	FUM	LST
Regular Season	5	9	56	11.2	1	22	4	0	0	0.0	0	0	0
Last 5 Games	5	9	56	6.4	1	22	4	0	0	0.0	0	0	0
Career	293	408	2,995	10.2	22	53	150	7	8	1.1	8	3	1

Advanced stats

2026 season through week 6. EPA per play is the points a play added to the team’s expected score; success rate is the share of plays that kept the offense on schedule; CPOE is completion percentage over what the throws’ difficulty predicted. Rank is by EPA per play.

	Plays	EPA/play	Success	CPOE	League rank
Receiving	11 targets	+0.38	46%		fewer than 24 plays

NFL data: nflverse, CC BY 4.0.

Recent games

			Receiving							Rushing					Fumbles
Date	Opponent	Result	REC	TGTS	YDS	AVG	TD	LNG	FD	CAR	YDS	AVG	TD	LNG	FUM	LST
Sun, Oct 11	@ GB	L 31-7	1	2	8	8.0	0	8	1	0	0	0.0	0	0	0	0
Sun, Oct 4	vs NYJ	W 23-12	2	2	13	6.5	0	7	1	0	0	0.0	0	0	0	0
Mon, Sep 28	vs PHI	W 27-7	0	1	0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0	0.0	0	0	0	0
Sun, Sep 20	vs MIN	L 9-3	0	1	0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0	0.0	0	0	0	0
Sun, Sep 13	@ CAR	W 59-37	2	3	35	17.5	1	22	2	0	0	0.0	0	0	0	0

Last 5 games. Click a game for its box score.

About

Cole Kmet ( kə-MET; born March 10, 1999) is an American professional football tight end for the Chicago Bears of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, and was selected by the Bears in the second round of the 2020 NFL draft.

From Wikipedia’s article on Cole Kmet, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.¹

Background

Early life

Kmet attended St. Viator High School in Arlington Heights, Illinois. He played baseball and football in high school. As a senior in football, he had 48 receptions for 773 yards and four touchdowns. Kmet played in the 2017 U.S. Army All-American Bowl. He committed to the University of Notre Dame to play college football.

Before the 2017 Major League Baseball draft, Kmet worked out with the Chicago White Sox.

Football

As a true freshman at Notre Dame in 2017, Kmet played in all 13 games and had two receptions for 14 yards. As a sophomore in 2018, he played in 11 games and had 15 receptions for 162 yards. Kmet took over as the starting tight end his junior year in 2019. He missed the first three games of the season due to a broken collarbone. In November, he announced that he would return to Notre Dame for his senior season rather than enter the 2020 NFL draft.

On January 2, 2020, Kmet announced he would forgo his senior season at Notre Dame and would enter the 2020 NFL Draft.

Baseball

Kmet also played baseball at Notre Dame. As a freshman in 2018, Kmet appeared in 26 games as a relief pitcher and made one start. He finished the season 2–5 with a 5.05 earned run average (ERA), 39 strikeouts and a team-leading eight saves. As a sophomore in 2019, Kmet appeared in eight games with one start, before suffering an arm injury. He finished the season 0–2 with a 2.89 ERA and 27 strikeouts.

In the NFL, Kmet adopted a touchdown celebration that referenced his baseball career in which he pretended to hit a home run. He would also be occasionally joined by teammates, fans, or stadium workers posing as pitchers and outfielders.

Personal life

Kmet's father Frank Kmet was selected in the 1992 NFL draft but never played in an NFL game. His uncle Jeff Zgonina played in the NFL. Kmet is of Polish descent through his mother.

Kmet grew up a Bears and Chicago Cubs fan.

From Wikipedia’s article on Cole Kmet, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the full article.¹