The Chicago Bears made waves during the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft when they selected tight end Colston Loveland with the No. 10 overall pick. Loveland was thought of as a first-round talent, but not many saw him getting picked as highly as he did—especially with tight end Tyler Warren still on the board.
The selection of Loveland seemed like a gamble, but one that paid off. Loveland surged in the second half of the season and finished with 58 receptions, 713 receiving yards, and six touchdowns in the regular season before torching the Green Bay Packers with eight catches for 137 yards in the team’s wild card round victory. Playing with quarterback Caleb Williams under head coach Ben Johnson wound up being the perfect situation for Loveland. It’s just not the one he thought he would end up in.
Loveland recently did an interview with Will Compton and Taylor Lewan on the “Bussin’ with the Boys” podcast and revealed that he wasn’t eyeing Chicago as a destination but an AFC West team he had strong ties with. “I thought the Chargers,” Loveland said when asked where he thought he was going to go. “That was my only visit I had, and coach [Jim] Harbaugh really told me ‘If you’re there, we’ll grab you.'”
The destination made plenty of sense. Harbaugh coached Loveland for two seasons while at the University of Michigan, and the two were part of the 2023 national championship squad. Plus, the Chargers had a need at tight end and didn’t fill it until the fifth round of the draft when they selected Oronde Gadsden II, who totaled 49 receptions for 664 yards and three touchdowns. Loveland would have been a solid fit and nice addition for quarterback Justin Herbert.
Instead, Loveland got scooped up by the Bears, which caught him off guard at first. “I was definitely surprised. In my head, I’m thinking no later than Chargers.” But he also quickly realized how much of a good fit he could be with Johnson, especially after his pro day. “I was definitely surprised, but I kind of knew that at the pro day; we met, and I feel like I killed that [expletive].”
Needless to say, it looks like the Bears made the right pick with Loveland, and the Chargers made out nicely with Gadsden as well.
This article originally appeared on Bears Wire: Bears TE Colston Loveland reveals the team he thought would draft him
Reporting by Brendan Sugrue, Bears Wire / Bears Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Brendan Sugrue, Bears Wire | USA TODAY Network
