Pelissero: Keep an eye on TE Cole Kmet and the 49ers tonight

NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero discussed what teams to keep an eye on for Notre Dame tight end Cole Kmet. Pelissero named three teams, including the San Francisco 49ers:

“This draft isn’t considered a particularly strong one for tight ends. Cole Kmet is the consensus best one, and it’s unclear whether he’ll go in the first round.”

Pelissero said teams with picks later in the first round tonight that are possible destinations for Kmet are the Niners, Patriots, and Packers, all teams picking in the back half of the first round. Kmet wasn’t one of the players the 49ers have met with, and it would be hard to imagine Kmet is the best player available at any point for the 49ers tonight unless they are extremely high on him. Most pundits had Kmet somewhere in the middle of the second round. This could also be a possible smokescreen for another team to trade up for Kmet. New England makes sense. San Francisco does not. Not in the first round, anyway.

Kmet is 98th on PFF’s big board with a grade of 69.8 this past season. Kmet was PFF’s second-ranked tight end. Kmet has yet to produce much on routes that required nuance. The 49ers may covet his 6’6”, 262-pound frame. The 49ers prefer pass catchers that have “wiggle” and can create after the catch. Kmet is not the type of receiver to make you miss. Kmet was in the 90th percentile for booth hiss jumps, and the 80th percentile for tight ends by running a 4.7 40-yard dash His agility drills were concerning. A 7.44 3-cone put Kmet in the 22ndd percentile. That could be why Notre Dame used Kmet strictly on vertical routes.