CHICAGO — The Bears are in the process of assembling their 2020 draft class. Here’s are quick breakdowns of the newest additions to the roster:
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Cole Kmet, tight end, Notre Dame
No. 43, second round
With Trey Burton’s release and questions about what Jimmy Graham still has left, the Bears needed another playmaking tight end to add to their room. The 6-foot-6, 262-pound Kmet was some analysts’ top prospect at the position after he had 43 catches for 515 yards and six touchdowns as a Notre Dame junior. He also played baseball at Notre Dame.
— Analysts’ take
“If you’re saying, ‘OK, who looks like Gronk and who kind of has that physicality to them?’ It would be Kmet,” NFL Network analyst Daniel Jeremiah said. “Now he’s not nearly as athletic as Gronk, but he’s somebody with that big catch radius. He’s tough to tackle. Big, physical and strong. He’s good in the run game. He can create some movement there and help you.”
— You should know
Kmet is from Lake Barrington, Ill., grew up a Bears fan and played football and baseball at St. Viator in Arlington Heights, Ill. His dad, Frank Kmet, was a Bills fourth-round draft pick, and his uncle, Jeff Zgonina, played 17 seasons in the NFL. He said he knew for a while he was coming to a fork in the road with his baseball career and decided to leave school early and skip his junior baseball season — which since has been canceled — because “football was where my heart was.”
“It was a tough decision in January after the bowl game,” Kmet said. “But I felt like this is what I wanted to do my whole life, and that’s why I took the opportunity.”
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Jaylon Johnson, cornerback, Utah
No. 50, second round
The Bears entered the draft with an obvious need at cornerback and might have landed a prospect who can come in and start early if not immediately as a rookie. Johnson, who’s 6 feet and 193 pounds, has good size for the position and also possesses good length and athleticism. His ability to excel in press-man coverage is a plus. He had six interceptions over his final two seasons in college and was a two-time first-team All-Pac-12 selection as well as an All-American as a junior last year.
— You should know
Johnson enjoyed the responsibility at Utah of having to defend opponents’ top receivers. As for what he brings to the position? “Confidence, swagger, toughness, you name it,” Johnson said at the combine in February. “It’s just about having kind of that dog mentality and having that will to win and just always wanting to compete and get better and kind of just impose your will on the receiver.”
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