Notre Dame football: Breaking down Cole Kmet’s combine
By Matt Clark
Notre Dame’s Cole Kmet came into the NFL Combine nearly unanimously regarded as the top tight end in the 2020 NFL Draft, his results didn’t change that.
All Notre Dame tight end Cole Kmet needed to do to remain the top-ranked player at the position heading into the 2020 NFL Draft was perform as expected. He didn’t need to wow anyone with an incredible performance to improve his draft stock, as he was expected by most to be the first tight end to have his name called on draft day.
As long as Kmet didn’t massively underperform at the combine, teams were likely sold that he was the elite tight end in the draft based simply on his performance at Notre Dame. After all, he did have 43 receptions for 515 receiving yards and six touchdowns for the Irish this season, despite missing two games for the Irish due to injury.
Kmet came into the combine as the second-tallest tight end at over 6’5″ and the heaviest at the position at 262-pounds. Despite clearly being larger than most of the tight ends, he showed that his size did not act as a deterrent for speed by running an official 4.70 in the 40-yard dash.
The 4.67 was good enough to place Kmet fourth overall at the tight end position amongst active participants. Missouri’s Albert Okwuegbunam posted an insane 4.49 forty-yard dash time to pace the field, but Purdue’s Bryce Hopkins and LSU’s Stephen Sullivan only bested Kmet by 0.04 seconds. It should be noted that some NFL teams had reported clocking Kmet at as fast as 4.67.
Kmet also managed to post the highest vertical jump of any tight end participating in the combine, hitting 37″ on the jump. Kmet finished behind only Dalton Keene of Virginia Tech, with a 123″ jump in the event. He didn’t fare as well in the three-cone drill, as he finished second-to-last in that event. However, that should not be seen as a major flaw.
Instead, Kmet’s results at the combine only served to further solidify the likelihood that he is the top overall tight end drafted in the 2020 NFL Draft. It is highly likely that Kmet goes in the first round of the draft and would seem like a steal at any point after the first round.
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The New England Patriots, Chicago Bears, Dallas Cowboys, and Pittsburgh Steelers are among the prominent teams that Kmet has been linked to as possible suitors in the draft. Regardless of where he goes, Kmet looks like he could be bound to star in the NFL.