(Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
The Chicago Bears selected Cole Kmet 43rd overall in the 2020 NFL Draft on Friday. Afterwards, the Illinois native received a warm welcome from his neighbors congratulating him on a dream come true.
Neighbors drove past Cole Kmet’s house to congratulate the Illinois native after being drafted.
The Chicago Bears selected the Notre Dame tight end with the 43rd overall pick during the second round of the NFL Draft on Friday. The next day, Kmet was celebrated in his own neighborhood. Cars drove past to honk horns and wave. It was a celebration with cars driving by for 45 minutes nonstop, according to 247 Sports’ Tom Loy.
One car pulled up with a paper decoration tapped on the exterior that read, “Congratulations Cole,” and a woman sitting in the passenger side handed Kmet flowers. Even with light rain, the neighborhood showed their support for the Bears rookie.
“You are coming back home baby, you are coming back home. Are you ready?…We are so excited. It was meant to be,” Bears head coach Matt Nagy told Kmet via video chat before being drafted.
An ecstatic Kmet was surrounded by family members who cheered him on as he got the call.
In 11 games his final year with the Fighting Irish, Kmet piled up 43 catches, 515 receiving yards and six touchdowns. Kmet is now the Bears’ first draft choice in the 2020 NFL Draft. Their original first-round pick was sent to the Las Vegas Raiders, back in 2018 when the team dealt that future pick to acquire Khalil Mack.
With this selection, the Bears are now at a surplus of tight ends. Even after cutting ties with Trey Burton earlier this month, Chicago has 10 tight ends on roster. It will be interesting to see what tight ends are still on roster for the preseason, how the Bears will battle it out to see who goes where on the depth chart, and ultimately, who makes the roster.
This could possibly be the second-most interesting competition in Chicago. The top one will of course be a quarterback position battle between Mitchell Trubisky and Nick Foles, whom they acquired earlier this offseason via trade.