Before the Chicago Bears even drafted Colston Loveland, the pro comparisons all pointed in one overarching direction.
Who did Loveland remind the experts of, most?
It was pretty easy to see: Detroit Lions tight end Sam LaPorta.
This is one of many reasons why no one should be surprised at the pick. Loveland was hand-selected by head coach Ben Johnson in order to give this Bears offense their own version of LaPorta, and the rookie knows it.
Not only does LaPorta know it, he's embracing it.
Colston Loveland loves him some Sam LaPorta, and Bears fans should be thankful he does
When speaking to the Bears media after being selected on draft night, Loveland spoke on several topics. One of them, of course, had to be his being compared to LaPorta and the idea that his new head coach saw so many similarities between the two of them.
"They were asking me what some of my favorite tight ends are to watch, and I mentioned a couple and put LaPorta's name in there. Shout out to him, too, he's a heck of a player," he said.
Loveland went on to talk about his conversation with Ben Johnson, specifically, and the comparisons the head coach made between the two tight ends:
"Coach Johnson, he's like, 'Yeah you remind me a lot of him. We did a lot of things with LaPorta and I could see you doing a lot of those things as well.'"
For Bears fans who haven't watched much of Loveland or might be a little confused or upset over the pick, that reaction is understandable. After all, Cole Kmet is a good player.
However, teams have been in similar spots before and decided to go this route. The Buffalo Bills drafted Dalton Kincaid in the first round after already having an established starter in Dawson Knox. And, with how effective the Bills were in running the ball, having two talented tight ends on the field certainly helped.
The Bears' strategy could be a little different, of course, as both Loveland and Kmet are solid receiving options. This offense is gearing up for a heck of a run under Johnson, and the fact he got his very own LaPorta in Year 1 with the Bears was just one more step toward building what he helped build in Detroit.