Cole Kmet: Draft Status Could Be Impacted By Pre-Draft Changes

Barring a dramatic turn of events around the country, the April 23-25 NFL Draft is going to take place without any more pro days, in person meetings or anything else that allows players to rise and fall up draft boards.

This impacts every team and every player to varying degrees, and the Notre Dame draft prospects are no different. For most the consequences of the COVID-19 fears will have a significant negative impact, for others it might even help and for some it will have little to no impact.

To begin the series looking at how the diminished pre-draft process impacts Notre Dame players I take a look at tight end Cole Kmet.

My first thought was this could actually help Kmet, but it’s a bit more complicated than that.

Kmet is the top tight end in the draft, which means all the other players at his position are looking to catch up to him. A strong pro day work out for another player, an injury for Kmet or an in-person meeting could all impact Kmet’s standing. A team might fall in love with another player’s personality for whatever reason, but now the draft will be all about the talent and the film, and Kmet is the top dog in both areas, and I don’t think it’s even close.

The more I thought about it, however, there is a negative for Kmet as well. Kmet would have shined in the interview process. Coaches and decision makers that have yet to meet Kmet up close would have been shocked at how big he is, which would have put his combine performance in an even greater light, so not getting to do in-person meetings hurts him.

Kmet is also an impressive young man that would have had his own chance to get a general manager or head coach or offensive coordinator to fall in love with him. While it wouldn’t have impacted his TE1 status, it is something that could have been the difference between a team viewing him as a first or second round player. The more teams that value him as a first round pick the greater the odds he goes in round one.

The highest I’ve seen Kmet go in a mock draft is No. 20. Most mock drafts have him going between No. 43 and 50 to the Bears. Last year’s No. 20 pick was also a tight end, Noah Fant, who went to the Denver Broncos. Fant signed a contract worth a total of $12.55 million with $7.15 million dollar signing bonus (Spotrac). Fant’s contract includes $9.88 million guaranteed.

The next tight end to be selected was Irv Smith Jr., who was taken No. 50 by the Minnesota Vikings. That is the range for Kmet, 20 to 50. Smith signed a contract worth $5.798 million with a signing bonus of $2.24 million and $2.996 million guaranteed.

That’s quite a difference, so Kmet getting that opportunity to secure a spot in the bottom half of the draft certainly could have an impact.

Final Impact: Minimal