All Notre Dame tight end Cole Kmet needed to do to remain the top-ranked player at the position heading into the 2020 NFL Draft was perform as expected. He didn’t need to wow anyone with an incredible performance to improve his draft stock, as he was expected by most to be the first tight end to have his name called on draft day.
As long as Kmet didn’t massively underperform at the combine, teams were likely sold that he was the elite tight end in the draft based simply on his performance at Notre Dame. After all, he did have 43 receptions for 515 receiving yards and six touchdowns for the Irish this season, despite missing two games for the Irish due to injury.