dabearsblog looks at the TEs

part 2

www.dabearsblog.com/2023/2023tightends-part2

conclusion:

Lessons Learned
Now that we’re 1200 words in on this article, and 2300 on the series overall, let’s look at what we’ve learned about each tight end:

Cole Kmet saw his target volume drop in 2022, but his overall efficiency took a real step forward in a new offense that utilized him more strategically.
--This included improving real weaknesses from his first two seasons against man coverage, on 3rd/4th down, and in the red zone.
--Kmet is never going to be a high-volume pass catcher who you can build a passing attack around, but he has shown he can be very effective as a secondary weapon.
--Stay tuned for a closer look at what type of contract that could merit for Kmet should he sign an early extension prior to the start of the season.

New addition Robert Tonyan had a highly ineffective 2022 season where he wasn’t good for much more than catching dumpoffs in low-leverage situations.
--The intrigue comes in looking back at what Tonyan was in 2020 prior to tearing his ACL in 2021. If he can regain that form, or anything close to it, he becomes a legitimate weapon in his own right, and Chicago have two quality starting tight ends with skill sets that complement each other well.
--It is important to note, however, that there are no guarantees that happens. Maybe what we saw in 2022 is all that Tonyan has to offer now. If that’s the case, he’s still a perfectly fine backup who can help Chicago’s struggles in the short passing game.

While I hope than Tonyan returns to his 2020 form, I am not too worried about how much we paid for him.

Here is a link to his Spotrac page.

part three:

www.dabearsblog.com/2023/projecting-cole-kmets-contract-extension

"PFF’s Brad Spielberger, who’s the best contract guy out there in NFL media right now, projected Kmet to sign a 4 year deal worth $13.3M per year, with 60% of the money guaranteed. That’s basically Knox’s (TE from Buffalo) deal with higher guarantees, and that seems too small to me, because Kmet has outproduced Knox at the point of signing the extension, is two years younger, and signing on a bigger salary cap. Even taking Knox’s deal and simply extrapolating it to a bigger salary cap would be about $14.8M/year, and Kmet can rightfully claim he should beat that, so I’d say $15M per year is roughly his floor, with $17.5M (the cap-extrapolated version of Dallas Goedert’s contract) his likely ceiling."