Tight end Colston Loveland certainly didn’t disappoint last season. After a slow start to the year, the 10th overall pick stepped into the limelight for the Chicago Bears during their last-second win over the Cincinnati Bengals. Everybody remembers his catch-and-run for a touchdown with just seconds left in the 4th quarter. That was the first indication that the Bears may have scored a big hit in the 2025 draft. Over the following weeks, Loveland emerged more and more as a primary target in the passing game.
Yet even now, many people aren’t fully grasping how serious it got towards the end of the season. Here are Loveland’s first 14 games and the averages he posted in targets, receptions, yards, and touchdowns. All pretty typical for a rookie.
| Metric | 16-Week Cumulative Total | Per-Game Average |
|---|---|---|
| Games Played | 14 | — |
| Targets | 59 | 4.2 |
| Receptions | 42 | 3.0 |
| Receiving Yards | 528 | 37.7 |
| Touchdowns | 4 | 0.29 |
| Yards Per Catch | 12.6 | — |
Now take a look at what he put up over the final two games of the regular season and the two playoff games.
| Metric | Final 4-Game Combined Total | Per-Game Average |
|---|---|---|
| Games Played | 4 | — |
| Targets | 48 | 12.0 |
| Receptions | 28 | 7.0 |
| Receiving Yards | 378 | 94.5 |
| Touchdowns | 2 | 0.50 |
| Yards Per Catch | 13.5 | — |
Let’s put it this way. If those averages hold true through the entirety of next season, Loveland would finish with 119 catches for 1,606 yards and nine touchdowns.
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Colston Loveland already has several built-in advantages.
This goes beyond his obvious talent. Players who can run and catch at his size are incredibly rare. It’s when you get into the surroundings that you start to realize how screwed defenses are. For one, Loveland is under the guidance of head coach Ben Johnson, one of the league’s top offensive minds and an aficionado of the tight end position. Then you have Caleb Williams. He targeted Loveland at least 10 times in each of the final four games of last season. It is evident there is a blossoming trust between the two. That means the tight end should see the ball come his way a lot.
Last but not least, there is the supporting cast. This is not a situation where Loveland is the only weapon of any note. The Bears had the #3 rushing attack last season, while Rome Odunze and Luther Burden served as legitimate threats at wide receiver. Then you add fellow tight end Cole Kmet to the mix and defenses can’t possibly double-cover Loveland all day without leaving themselves dangerously vulnerable elsewhere. It’s pick your poison. Either single cover Loveland, or single cover everybody else.
Only one thing stands in the way.
That is health. Colston Loveland plays a physical brand of football. So it is always difficult to tell whether his body can handle the violence. This isn’t anything new. It was much the same during his time at Michigan. There is just no way the NFL can stop him from dominating for 17 full games. He is way too good. When general manager Ryan Poles said he has All-Pro expectations for Loveland in the near future, he didn’t say it lightly. He believes that is what is coming.
If so, the Bears are in line to win a lot of football games. There is a strong correlation between teams that have top-five tight ends and teams that compete in the playoffs. We’ve seen it for years in San Francisco with George Kittle and Kansas City with Travis Kelce. It’s rather amazing that it took this long for the Bears to get back to this point after revolutionizing the position with Mike Ditka in the 1960s. Better late than never.
