Cole Kmet wasn't the first player to feel what he felt in April. There have been many times in Chicago Bears history where a player who thought he was established saw the team draft a possible replacement in the 1st round. It happened to Jim McMahon in 1987 when they took Jim Harbaugh. Thomas Jones felt that sting in 2005 when they took Cedric Benson. Pernell McPhee probably wasn't thrilled about drafting Leonard Floyd in 2016. Kmet had to have gotten at least a sense of unease when the Bears took Colston Loveland 10th overall.
Sure enough, the tight end spoke to the media on Tuesday during the first day of mandatory minicamps. He admitted that he was "taken aback" by the pick at first. However, it didn't stay that way for long. Head coach Ben Johnson quickly called him to explain the team's thinking behind the choice. It had nothing to do with the idea of replacing Kmet. It was meant to do three things: further deepen the position, create scheme versatility on offense, and add competition.
Johnson's primary goal is simple: develop the NFL's best "12" personnel group.
Loveland is meant to assist Cole Kmet, not replace him.
There is no reason to think the two can't coexist. There have been several instances of teams featuring two good tight ends in the past. If anything, this might be an offensive approach that is grossly underutilized. Defenses these days are built to play against "11" personnel, or three wide receiver sets. One has to think that such lineups that are more about speed than size would have problems going against two tight ends who are 6'6" and can run. No doubt Johnson is already thinking that. This is without even mentioning how valuable both should be in the running game. Cole Kmet won't lose his spot in the offense. His value was always as a Y-tight end. Those are more about blocking. Loveland is the one who can open up the passing game like never before.
