Mel Kiper Jr. Has TE Cole Kmet Headed South

Former Notre Dame tight end Cole Kmet continues to be a regular in the first round of mock drafts, but the first one from ESPN analyst Mel Kiper Jr. has Kmet going higher than most. Do not be surprised to see Kmet continue to rise up draft boards.

Here is what Kiper had to say about the former Irish tight end:

"When it was reported in November that Kmet said he planned to return for his senior season at Notre Dame in 2020, I took him out of my rankings for this class. Now? He has entered the draft, and he's my new No. 1 tight end. The 6-foot-5 Kmet doesn't have a ton of experience and only caught 60 passes over three seasons, but he flashes an all-around game that is too good to ignore. Before last year's draft, I projected the Jaguars to take T.J. Hockenson because their need at tight end was so clear, and that hasn't changed a year later."

I am of the view that as teams do more and more research on Kmet as a player and a person he will continue to rise up draft boards. Kmet's blend of size, athleticism and ball skills is hard to find. The brief period of teams looking for smaller, more athletic tight ends is waning as bigger tight ends are dominating the position.

If you look at the top tight ends in the NFL from a catches standpoint, they were all bigger players that look and play a lot like Kmet. Travis Kelce (6-5, 260) of the Kansas City Chiefs, Darren Waller (6-6, 255) of the Oakland Raiders, George Kittle (6-4, 250) of the San Francisco 49ers and Zach Ertz (6-5, 250) of the Philadelphia Eagles all had at least 80 catches for over 900 yards in 2019.

Despite missing two games to start the 2019 season, Kmet had the fifth-best single-season receptions mark and sixth-best single-season receiving yards mark for a Notre Dame tight end, hauling in 43 passes for 515 yards. Kmet’s six touchdown receptions tied for the most by a tight end in a single season.

Kmet finished his Notre Dame career with 60 receptions for 691 yards and six scores.

According to John Shipley of Jaguar Report, Jacksonville has a major need at tight end.

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