The Chicago Bears went against the grain of pre-draft predictions when they took Michigan tight end Colston Loveland No, 10 overall. That said, new head coach Ben Johnson's offense has room for plenty of players to contribute and two-tight end sets with Cole Kmet are firmly in play.
The sheer investment of draft capital means Loveland will have an immediate role. He didn't do any on-field work during OTAs as he recovers from shoulder surgery, but the assumption is he'll be ready for training camp and the mental reps he has gotten will only help him hit the ground running in camp.
The early praise for Loveland has been prevalent, inside and outside Halas Hall. Matt Verderame of Sports Illustrated recently passed along sentiment from a Big Ten head coach about Loveland's path to making an early impact.
"He is a very productive, athletic tight end that can play in the run game and be a passing threat. Excellent hands and a true threat down the middle of the field. I expect them to use him on all three downs and be a potential outstanding red zone threat.”
The love for Colston Loveland is impossible to ignore
Gennaro Filice of NFL.com has tapped into this year's rookie class to project a starting lineup of instant impact newcomers for 2025. He could have gone with a different first-round tight end, but Loveland was the choice.
"Standing 6-6, 241 pounds, Loveland is a tight end who runs routes with the fluidity of a wideout. That’s what makes him special. And that’s what made Sam LaPorta a rookie Pro Bowler under Ben Johnson in Detroit, so it stands to reason that Johnson will get the most out of Loveland in Chicago. With Cole Kmet in place to handle traditional in-line work, Johnson can let his beautiful football mind run wild when it comes to scheming up touches for his new toy. The Bears have a lot of mouths to feed in the passing game, but I anticipate this supersized separator will get a fair share of attention from young quarterback Caleb Williams."
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With the Ben Johnson tie, it's easy to compare Loveland to Lions tight end Sam LaPorta and try to project similar results as a rookie. LaPorta also set the single-season rookie record for catches by a tight end, which was topped by Brock Bowers last year.
But there are indeed plans to use Loveland a lot, and as the season goes on he should assert himself as the Bears' clear-cut TE1 for years to come.