The Chicago Bears are deep at tight end, but that depth has not gone unnoticed by those around the NFL.
Colston Loveland's emergence as a rookie last season showed that this room is one of the best in the NFL, with Cole Kmet also being a solid player. ESPN NFL reporter Jeremy Fowler was back with his survey series, with league executives, coaches, and scouts sharing who they believe are the best players at each position. Tight ends were up, and Loveland ranked seventh with some high praise.
"He's unbelievable," an NFL coordinator said about Loveland. "A smooth mover with toughness."
"[Loveland] could be the Bears' top receiver next year," an NFL personnel evaluator said. "Expect to see more two- or three-tight-end sets from Chicago this year."
Colston Loveland isn't alone on the praise
It's easy to put Loveland in the top 10, as he's considered by some players to be one of the best players in the NFL. Last year, he finished his rookie campaign leading the Bears in receiving yards (713) and touchdowns (six). In the last four games of the regular season and postseason, Bears quarterback Caleb Williams targeted Loveland at least 10 times.
NFL personnel did not leave out another Bears tight end from the article. Kmet also received a comment from a league employee, as an honorable mention, that the Chicago fan base can agree with.
"He's still a quality player who's friendly for a young quarterback, good in the run game," personnel executive with an NFL team said about Kmet. "They need to find ways to get Kmet and Loveland on the field together."
Last year was no doubt a down season for Kmet, finishing with 30 receptions for 347 yards and two touchdowns. He did have one of the biggest moments of the 2025 season, though, as he caught the game-tying touchdown to force overtime in the playoff loss to the Los Angeles Rams.
At the beginning of the season, Bears head coach Ben Johnson admitted that he struggled to get the tight ends involved in the offense. That was a surprise at the time since he had just come from the Detroit Lions, where the tight end was a massive part of the passing game.
This season, it feels different as the Bears doubled down at tight end by selecting Stanford's Sam Roush in the third round of the 2026 NFL Draft. While some saw Roush as a real threat to Kmet's roster status, it was more about rounding out the tight end room the right way.
Loveland is the receiving tight end who will be heavily involved in the passing game. As for the other two, Kmet is a jack-of-all-trades who can do it all, while Roush is the team's top blocking tight end.
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As great as Loveland is, Kmet deserves his love too since he has been a great tight end for the Bears. This is just further proof that the Bears have an elite tight end room that shouldn't be messed with.
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