How High is the Ceiling for the Bears Rookie Tight End Amid an Impressive Debut Season?
In 2025, the Chicago Bears stunned the NFL world with their selection of the 10th overall pick. Former Michigan Wolverine, tight end Colston Loveland, was the very first draft pick under head coach Ben Johnson. Many draft analysts and fans were puzzled by the decision, choosing Loveland over tight end Tyler Warren. The Bears also already had tight end Cole Kmet, and had a lot more positions that needed to be filled before the season began. Since then, the entire perspective on the decision has changed, especially after the Bears’ victory over the Green Bay Packers in the first round of the playoffs.
Loveland, during the regular season, led the Bears in receiving yards with 713, alongside having six touchdowns. In his first playoff game, the rookie caught eight catches for 137 yards. His season started slowly in the first six games, not recording a single touchdown and only having 116 total yards. It wasn’t until Chicago’s matchup against the Cincinnati Bengals in his seventh game that he caught two touchdowns and 118 yards. Loveland has found his connection with quarterback Caleb Williams since that game and has become his favorite target this season, despite having a great selection of wide receivers to throw to. His production helped lead Chicago to be sixth in total offense this season, alongside being ninth in points per game.
The impact Loveland has begun to show in just his first year in the NFL has left the Bears excited for the future, as his development continues alongside Ben Johnson. Chicago is set to face the Los Angeles Rams next weekend in the next round, where the rookie will prove to be a tough test for the Rams’ defense, which is 19th overall in opponent passing yards per game during the regular season. Williams has begun to trust Loveland the most out of all of his targets in the last three games, where the rookie has over 90 receiving yards in each game with total touchdowns. They will look to carry that momentum heading into their matchup against the Rams for the first time this season, in Soldier Field.
