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Notre Dame football: Predicting veteran breakout NFL seasons in 2021

By Brad Weiss

Sep 14, 2019; South Bend, IN, USA; The Notre Dame Fighting Irish are reflected in a helmet as they sing the Notre Dame Alma Mater following the win over the New Mexico Lobos at Notre Dame Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 14, 2019; South Bend, IN, USA; The Notre Dame Fighting Irish are reflected in a helmet as they sing the Notre Dame Alma Mater following the win over the New Mexico Lobos at Notre Dame Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports /
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Notre Dame
SOUTH BEND, IN – OCTOBER 12: Cole Kmet #84 of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish gets tripped up after catching a pass against Kana’i Mauga #26 of the USC Trojans in the second half of the game at Notre Dame Stadium on October 12, 2019, in South Bend, Indiana. Notre Dame defeated USC 30-27. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /

Notre Dame football: Predicting veteran breakout NFL seasons in 2021

Cole Kmet, TE, Chicago Bears

The Notre Dame football program is known for producing high-level tight ends, and in 2020, Cole Kmet was a second-round draft choice of the Chicago Bears. Playing alongside Jimmy Graham as a rookie, Kmet learned the game from one of the best, and eventually, we saw more of him being the top option at the position, and Graham sliding in behind him.

In 2021, the Chicago Bears are going to look a lot different, as the team has moved on from Mitchell Trubisky, entrusting the quarterback position to Andy Dalton and first-round pick, Justin Fields. For Kmet, this could mean a bigger role in the passing game for the Bears, and now that he is the TE1 for the franchise, expectations are larger.

Kmet proved during his time in South Bend that he can be an excellent pass catcher, and the Bears will certainly look to get him the ball within the offense at a higher clip in Year 2. Some publications, like Pro Football Focus, are not high on Kmet, ranking him outside the top-32 tight ends in the league, but a break-out season will change all of that.

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