The Chicago Bears organization has a handful of meaningful decisions to make that will drastically shape the future of the franchise over the next few months.
One player who has established himself as a big piece of this passing attack heading into the 2024 NFL season is TE Cole Kmet, who enjoyed a career year in 2023. How does the potential uncertainty under center for Chicago impact the dynasty fantasy football value of Kmet at this moment?
Cole Kmet’s Dynasty Outlook
By nearly all accounts, Kmet had the best season of his four-year career in 2023. He set career-high marks with 73 receptions and 719 receiving yards while playing all 17 games for a third consecutive campaign.
He posted these career-bests while losing a significant amount of work to DJ Moore and operating without his starting QB Justin Fields for a lengthy stretch of the season.
Kmet has clearly earned the trust of Fields, which is great for 2024 … if the team doesn’t select a new quarterback at the top of the NFL Draft. If that potential change isn’t potentially worrisome, then another change at the offensive coordinator (OC) spot — with Shane Waldron replacing Luke Getsy — could provide a bit more uncertainty.
Waldron’s been the OC with the Seahawks for the last three seasons, where no TE has topped 50 receptions or 500 yards receiving in any of those years.
One could certainly argue Kmet is a better player than the options the Seahawks have had at TE over the last three years, but the offensive scheme could hurt Kmet’s involvement in 2024. He is still a low-end TE1 fantasy option heading into 2024 — unless the team adds a significant amount of talent to the wide receiver room ahead of the upcoming season.
Kmet’s Dynasty Ranking
Where does Kmet land in the dynasty TE landscape going into the 2024 offseason? Here are Tate’s latest rankings, featuring where Kmet lands in comparison to other top names at the position.
Derek Tate’s Top 20 Dynasty TE Rankings
1) Sam LaPorta | DET
2) Dalton Kincaid | BUF
3) Trey McBride | ARI
4) Mark Andrews | BAL
5) T.J. Hockenson | MIN
6) Travis Kelce | KC
7) Kyle Pitts | ATL
8) David Njoku | CLE
9) George Kittle | SF
10) Jake Ferguson | DAL
11) Cole Kmet | CHI
12) Dallas Goedert | PHI
13) Evan Engram | JAX
14) Cade Otton | TB
15) Dalton Schultz | HOU
16) Darren Waller | NYG
17) Chigoziem Okonkwo | TEN
18) Hunter Henry | NE
19) Isaiah Likely | BAL
20) Michael Mayer | LV
Should You Trade Kmet in Dynasty?
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Despite posting back-to-back top-eight fantasy finishes at the TE position in PPR formats in a subpar passing attack before the age of 25, Kmet is still a tricky player to pinpoint on the dynasty trade market.
His situation could change drastically over the next few months with the Bears possessing two top-10 picks in the 2024 NFL Draft.
The team could elect to stick with Fields at quarterback but spend one of those two picks on a top-tier WR prospect to pair with Moore, which could eat significantly into Kmet’s target share.
WHAT A CATCH 🔥
Cole Kmet snags a jump ball from Tyson Bagent to give the #Bears the early lead!
— Pro Football Network (@PFN365)
On the other hand, the team could elect to select a QB at No. 1 overall, which then has Kmet depending on a rookie signal-caller to sustain his fantasy production. In addition, the team could still use that second first-rounder to select a WR to compete for targets with Kmet.
Kmet’s production at such a young age with some less-than-ideal circumstances certainly means he is a quality player who is capable of far better days in his future, but the uncertainty about his current situation makes him a risky acquisition via trade.
MORE:Â Dynasty vs. Keeper Leagues
Personally, I believe in the talent and would be willing to part ways with an early second-round pick for Kmet if I need a TE for my roster, but I wouldn’t go any higher than that price point given Kmet’s wide range of outcomes heading into the offseason.
