The Chicago Bears started the Ben Johnson era by drafting tight end Colston Loveland with the 10th overall pick. The pick was not highly controversial, but it does bring two questions.
Ranking most important Bears in 2025: Number 16 Colston Loveland
First, they took him over Tyler Warren, which was considered a surprise at the time. Also, tight ends tend to take a longer time to develop and do not tend to hit the ground running, which is why a top ten pick sits at number 16 on the most essential players rankings.
Even more important than the questions that arose from drafting him is how he fits with Cole Kmet, an already established tight end on the roster. It is evident that Loveland is the future, and his impact and progression are more critical than Kmet's, regardless of who plays more snaps. Still, all of these thoughts taken together suggest that you should ease the expectations for Loveland.
Early in the year he may hardly play at all and by the end of the year he may be a situational player who can space out into the slot and create mismatches with the occasional blocking stint.
At the same time, there is reason to be positive. Loveland was always polished as a pass catcher and came from a pro offense, so he could hit the ground running a bit faster. More than that, we saw that Ben Johnson can create more for rookie tight ends than most, as he did that with Sam LaPorta. LaPorta came from a pro-style offense and was more of a passing option, which sounds like Loveland.
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If a LaPorta season is coming, his ranking is too low. With reasonable expectations, this feels like a good spot to highlight the rookie.