Kmet optimistic about role in Bears’ new offense

Since being selected by the Bears in the second round of the 2020 draft out of Notre Dame, Kmet has caught 88 passes for 855 yards and two touchdowns in 33 games over two seasons. The 6-6, 250-pounder more than doubled his rookie year output in 2021 with 60 receptions for 612 yards.

With first-year coach Matt Eberflus and an entirely new staff taking over, Kmet knows that he’ll have to prove himself all over again. But that’s just fine with the 23-year-old.

“Yeah, starting over again, but I’m optimistic,” Kmet said. “I’m totally bought in to what’s going on here. Coach Eberflus is coming with a great mindset that I think is really good for this team. We’re young, but I’m totally bought in to what’s going on here and I’m excited for it.

“He’s a straight shooter, which is awesome. You know exactly what he wants. There’s no gray area. As a player, that’s all you can ask for.”

In practice, Kmet has been trying to demonstrate that he’s a well-rounded tight end.

“For me, it’s just taking it day-to-day,” Kmet said, “doing my best to show the coaches what I’m capable of doing and being able to do multiple things; not just being a [receiver], not just being a run blocker, but being able to show them that I can be involved in everything, because if you can do both, run and pass really well, you’re going to get some nice open passes in the field.”

Kmet told reporters that he’s focused on improving two aspects of his game this offseason: catching every pass with his hands and “really craving violence through my blocks.” He’s been working on the former in practice but must wait to address the latter when the pads come on in training camp.

Kmet approaches his job with a sense of urgency he learned from his uncle, Jeff Zgonina, an NFL defensive tackle for 17 seasons from 1993-2009.

“There’s no reason not to study the night before,” Kmet said. “You’ve got to know your stuff before you come in. There’s no excuse for not knowing what to do on a play, whether they installed it correctly…