The Keeper Sleeper: Tight Ends are one of the most essential positions in fantasy football. Aside from Travis Kelce, it’s hard to find someone who is consistent each and every week. Are you tired of relying on free agent acquisitions to score you enough fantasy points to get by? Whether you are playing in a Dynasty League, Keeper League, Seasonal League or any other Fantasy Football League, Cole Kmet could save your team.
Analysis: The rookie tight end out of Notre Dame has had a decent 2020 season so far. In 13 games played, Kmet has caught 17 of his 28 targets for 172 yards and two touchdowns. Although this might not seem like prolific numbers from your fantasy tight end, the talented rookie has seen a lot more production as of late.
Productivity: Through the first 11 games of the Bears’ season, Jimmy Graham seemed like the clear-cut number one tight end on the roster. In the last two weeks, it seems as if Kmet has taken over the top spot on the depth chart. The former second-round pick from this year’s draft has caught nine of his 14 targets for 78 yards and one touchdown the past two weeks. During that stretch, he is second on the team in receptions and targets. He’s also out-producing Graham as well. Graham has caught four of his five targets for 23 yards and a touchdown in weeks 13 and 14.
Snap-Count: In week one of the 2020 season, Kmet played just 31 percent of the team’s offensive snaps. Graham was clearly the top tight end option as he lined up on offense 80 percent of the time. The roles have flipped now that we are inching towards the end of the season. In the Bears’ week 14 victory over the Texans, Kmet lined up on offense 85 percent of the time compared to Graham’s 48 percent. In fact, Kmet has seen the field more than Graham in each of Chicago’s last four games. What’s even more interesting is that Kmet led the team in offensive snap’s in their most recent contest.
Reason To Add Kmet: Although his numbers haven’t been the most enticing, Kmet deserves a shot at being your fantasy tight end (at least as a back-up). Below are the top fifteen snap-count percentages from all tight ends in the NFL from Week 13.
1) Logan Thomas – Washington Football Team (100 percent)
2) Darren Waller – Las Vegas Raiders (95 percent)
3) Dalton Schultz – Dallas Cowboys (90 percent)
4) Travis Kelce – Kansas City Chiefs (89 percent)
5) Drew Sample – Cincinnati Bengals (87 percent)
6) Tyler Higbee – Los Angeles Rams (84 percent)
7) Dallas Goedert – Philadelphia Eagles (84 percent)
8) Noah Fant – Denver Broncos (82 percent)
9) Eric Ebron – Pittsburgh Steelers (80 percent)
10) T.J. Hockenson – Detroit Lions (78 percent)
11) Cole Kmet – Chicago Bears (78 percent)
12) Austin Hooper – Cleveland Browns (74 percent)
13) Gerald Everett – Los Angeles Rams (73 percent)
14) Tyler Eifert – Jacksonville Jaguars (72 percent)
15) Evan Engram – New York Giants (71 percent)
Among these fifteen tight ends, only Thomas, Waller, Kelce and Hockenson produced more PPR Fantasy Points in Week 14 than Kmet did.
Prediction: In the next three weeks, Kmet and the Bears take on the Vikings, Jaguars and Packers respectively. The rookie has a great chance at turning more heads in the fantasy world during that stretch. Minnesota’s secondary has given up the seventh most passing yards this season, Jacksonville has given up the fifth most and Green Bay is coming off a game where they allowed T.J. Hockenson to catch six passes for 43 yards and a touchdown. Kmet should mold into the tight end of the future for the Chicago Bears. Currently, he is available in 94 percent of Yahoo Leagues if you are playing in PPR Fantasy Football Leagues. If you lack tight end depth, or you need a starter to ride with for the rest of the season, Kmet could become your “Keeper Sleeper.”
