2020 NFL Draft: Carolina Panthers 7-round mock
By John Buhler
Third Round
Scouting Report. Pick Analysis. Notre Dame Fighting Irish. Cole Kmet. 819. TE. 69. player
Though this is not a great tight end draft, the Panthers do need to go about replacing Greg Olsen as a pass-catcher in the middle of their offense. Fortunately for Carolina, they might be in position to take arguably the best tight end available in the upcoming draft. With the No. 69 overall pick in the third round, look for the Panthers to go after Cole Kmet out of Notre Dame.
Kmet played three years in South Bend for Brian Kelly. At 6-foot-5 and 250 pounds, Kmet could be the next great tight end to come out of this Notre Dame offense like Kyle Rudolph and Tyler Eifert before him. With plenty of big-game experience, Kmet should be ready to catch a bunch of balls from Teddy Bridgewater or whoever in Carolina uniform.
During his time in college, Kmet had 60 catches for 691 yards and six touchdowns. Though the bulk of his numbers came during his junior season, there were plenty of times where Kmet was a major mismatch for defenders in the Notre Dame passing game. In short, his skill set translates marvelously to the next level.
Though wide receiver might be a slightly more pressing need for the Panthers, getting potentially the best tight end available will do wonders for Bridgewater in Joe Brady’s offense. If Kmet can get the amount of targets Thaddeus Moss got at LSU last season in Brady’s offense, this could be an excellent rookie season for Kmet in Carolina blue.