These Colston Loveland stats since Week 9 prove Bears' new star has arrived

Through eight weeks, there were legitimate questions about Colston Loveland and his fit in the Chicago Bears' offense.

However, since Week 9, Loveland has been one of the better tight ends in the NFL, and he has clearly been living up to his top ten pick billing. He ranks seventh amongst all tight ends in catches and fifth in yards. He is also fourth in touchdowns over that time. 

The Athletic's Kevin Fishbain shared all the details on where Loveland ranks among tight ends in key categories since Week 9.

The Chicago Bears may have gotten it right with Colston Loveland 

That is, among all tight ends, he has been the best rookie. He is tied with Harold Fannin for the most catches, but he has 11 fewer targets, 67 more yards, and two more touchdowns. 

Through eight weeks, all of the talk was that Tyler Warren was clearly the better prospect than Loveland, and the Bears got the pick wrong. Warren had 492 yards while Loveland had just 116. Warren had 50 targets while Loveland had just 18. 

Now, Loveland is getting more work, and Warren is starting to get figured out in the offense. Loveland has 36 targets while Warren has just 35. Loveland has 156 more yards on just two more catches. He also has two more touchdowns. 

Needless to say, Loveland has been much better since then. You can say that the quarterback play fell off, and the opponents got tougher for the Colts. Still, no one explained why Loveland wasn't producing that way in the first eight games; they were saying Warren was more productive and better. 

For the season, Loveland is still fourth amongst rookie tight ends when it comes to receiving yards. Still, he is averaging 1.75 yards per route run. Warren is at 1.73, and Fanin is at 1.68. Only Oronde Gadsden II at 1.86 yards per route run is better. This shows that while Loveland is not quite as productive, the only thing holding him back is the Bears easing him in, while the top two pass catchers have run more routes.

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When the Bears drafted Loveland, the thought was always going to be that he was a long-term play and would work behind Cole Kmet as a rookie and learn the offense. The fact that he is even in a debate with some of these players speaks to what his upside could bring next season, when the role and offense are designed around him.