Can you name the Chicago Bears' leader in receiving yards since Week 6? If you said tight end Colston Loveland, it wasn't exactly well-concealed here but it is him with 455 yards over the last 10 games.
Among tight ends since Week 9, his breakout game against the Cincinnati Bengals, and as put together by Bears' analyst Clay Harbor, Loveland is top-10 in receptions, yards, yards per catch, touchdowns, 20-plus yard receptions, and first downs.
That big game against a Bengals' defense that is the worst against tight ends this season by a good margin skews things for Loveland overall. But since then, Week 10-15, he is a top-10 fantasy tight end across the most common scoring formats (standard, 0.5-point PPR, full PPR).
Loveland's post-bye week surge to becoming the Bears' clear cut TE1 has brought some big visions of his fantasy stock for 2026 to light, and it's hard to argue against them.
Grand visions of where Loveland can get in 2026 won't cash any checks for fantasy managers this year. But he can continue to offer a preview of what's to come.
Bold prediction for Week 16 foreshadows Colston Loveland's 2026 fantasy stock
It's not a great-looking matchup for Loveland in Week 16, as the Green Bay Packers enter the week allowing the 10th-fewest fantasy points to tight ends (Yahoo! scoring; 0.5-point PPR). But besides allowing the fifth-fewest yards to the position (606; 43.3 yards per game), the Packers are basically middle of the pack against tight ends.
The Bears' pass catcher ranks will also be considerably thinned on Saturday night, with wide receivers Rome Odunze (foot) and Luther Burden (ankle) out. So Loveland is lined up for plenty of targets, and he had a touchdown against Green Bay in Week 14.
That adds up to a lot of good for Loveland in a big week for fantasy managers who still have something at stake.
With that in mind, Joel Smyth of Yahoo! went all-in with a bold prediction that the Bears' rookie will finish as a top-5 fantasy tight end when it's all said and done in Week 16.
"The main concern for Loveland’s fantasy stock this August was the competition around him. With so many mouths to feed, how would a rookie TE, although talented, break through? That becomes much less of a concern in Week 16 as Rome Odunze and Luther Burden III will both be out on Saturday night versus the Packers. Loveland has already posted double-digit fantasy points in back-to-back games without Odunze, one versus the Packers defense.
"In the limited snaps with both Odunze and Burden on the sideline this season, Loveland has a team-high 31% target share. With no Devonte Wyatt and Micah Parsons to slow down the Bears' run game, look for Loveland to capitalize on play-action passes and the Bears' high rate of two TE sets."
Read more: Luther Burden lands on list revealing when his full potential will be tapped into
Loveland, somehow, is available in over half of ESPN and Yahoo! leagues as of Saturday morning. Fantasy managers who have an iffy tight end in their Week 16 lineup currently, or those who have to shoot for higher upside after their opponent got a big game from someone in the Rams-Seahawks game, should absolutely consider a quick pivot.