The Bears' offseason priority is to find as many weapons as possible for Justin Fields. But, that doesn't mean said weapons aren't already on the roster.

One of those potential weapons is tight end Cole Kmet, whom the previous Bears regime took in the second round of the 2020 NFL Draft.

Courtney Cronin, the Bears' beat reporter for ESPN, recently wrote as much in the "way-too-early bold prediction" section of an offseason piece centered around the NFC North:

Tight end Cole Kmet becomes a security blanket for Fields and tops 800 receiving yards and six touchdowns this season. The third-year tight end will develop into an explosive component of the Bears' passing game and will finally get his chance to shine in the red zone following Jimmy Graham's departure.

Kmet had a pretty solid season in 2021, catching 60 passes for 612 yards on 93 targets. He failed to reach the end zone after scoring twice in 2020, but nearly set career-highs across the board in all other statistical categories. Darnell Mooney is currently the No. 1 option in the passing game and Kmet figures to slot in at No. 2, which sets him up for a big year if Fields and the rest of the offense finds its footing.

The Bears are nearly guaranteed to add a receiver in the draft, but that shouldn't take away from Kmet in the grand scheme of things.

Kmet has to improve his hands if he wants to take a step forward in 2022

Per Pro Football Focus, Kmet dropped five passes in 2022, which tied for fourth-most among tight ends with at least 42 targets on the year. His 67.4% reception rate ranked 22nd out of 32 qualifying tight ends. Kmet, Rob Gronkowski, and Darren Waller were the only tight ends to register more than 80 targets and five drops, but the difference between those three is Kmet's average depth of target was a mere 8.1 yards per attempt compared to Gronk's 10.9 and Waller's 10.5.

Kmet's 7.7% drop rate tied for 12th-highest among qualifying tight ends. That has to change if he wants to take a step forward in 2022.

Kmet will be the Bears' main receiving threat in the red zone

Unsurprisingly, Cronin is spot-on in here red zone assessment. New offensive coordinator Luke Getsy was the Packers passing game coordinator in 2020 and 2021. In 2020, when he had a fully-healthy Robert Tonyan, Getsy coordinated seven of Tonyan's 11 touchdown receptions from inside the 20, which tied for seventh-most among all receivers that year.

Kmet is a bigger target than Tonyan at 6-foot-6, 260-pounds and he registered a 37" vertical at the combine in 2020. Meaning, Kmet will see plenty of opportunities to score when the Bears get in the red area.

Granted, the Bears could draft an Alec Pierce or a Christian Watson, which would take away from Kmet's opportunities. But still, even then, Kmet will be the guy when the Bears are in scoring range.

You can check out the NFL Nation post, here.

Featured image via Sam Greene/The Enquirer via Imagn Content Services, LLC