Cleveland Browns: 3 tight ends that could bolster the offense
By Chad Porto
TE Cole Kmet (Notre Dame)
The draft evaluation process is always a crapshoot. Some Draft analysts like Fansided’s Nicholas Price have Cole Kmet as the best tight end in the draft, but other outlets like DraftTeck have him as the fourth-best and the 114th overall prospect. Most pundits do have Kmet as the top guy in the group, but they also have him slated as a second-round pick in just all of the evaluations. CBS has him at 39th overall, while WalterFootball.com has Kmet going in the 2nd round to the Green Bay Packers. The Browns could easily take a lineman in the first, and then go get Kmet in the second.
Kmet’s not as polished as other prospects but he can stretch the field and can develop as a blocker. He’s a big guy at 6’5 and 250 pounds, and if he can continue to show his athleticism at the combine, he could show the world that he’s exactly what the Browns need. Njoku for all of his attributes gets rocked on the line when he has to stay in and block. Hopefully, Kmet can do what Browns tight ends can’t and play both aspects of the position.
He put up impressive numbers in just ten games at Notre Dame during his Junior season. According to Sports Illustrated Kmet had the fifth-best single-season receptions mark and sixth-best single-season receiving yards for a Notre Dame tight end. Kmet caught 43 passes for 515 yards and six touchdowns.
His draft position will be determined more by his combine showing than anything else. Some pundits have Kmet going to New England in the first, and others as mentioned above, have him going late in the second. Kmet could be an unexpected mid-round game-changer if he falls that far.