The Chicago Bears shocked people when they selected tight end Colston Loveland 10th overall in the 2025 NFL Draft, but he showed exactly why he was coveted by head coach Ben Johnson.
Last season, Loveland led the team in receptions (58) and receiving yards (713) while tying for most touchdowns (6). He also set an NFL rookie record with the most receiving yards in a single postseason with 193 yards in two playoff games.
Pro Football Focus recently released their list of three breakout candidates at tight end for this upcoming fantasy football season. Loveland made the list after his impressive season as Chicago’s leading receiver last year as a rookie. Here is what they had to say:
Loveland was a rare tight end selected among the first 10 picks of the NFL Draft. He had a slow start to his career, recording 40 receiving yards or fewer in each of his first six games before breaking out for 118 yards and two touchdowns on six receptions against the Cincinnati Bengals. He particularly excelled over the final four weeks, including the playoffs, drawing at least nine targets in each of those games while averaging 94 yards and scoring twice. He was also the only tight end with four 90-yard games on the year, postseason included, while Trey McBride had three and several others had two.
His strong playoff performance helped him to an 86.2 receiving grade, the best mark among tight ends with at least 75 targets. Loveland should be able to build off that 2025 momentum. Chicago moved on from two of its top four players in targets, DJ Moore and Olamide Zaccheaus, and replaced them with Kalif Raymond, who will be 32 before the season, and third-round rookie Zavion Thomas. That should open the door for Loveland to see more consistent targets going forward.
Loveland has the upside to be the top overall tight end, given his talent, health and Ben Johnson‘s offense. But that production was largely concentrated over a two-month stretch, making him more likely to regress than Brock Bowers and McBride, who have shown more sustained success. That is the main reason he is not in the top tier of tight ends.
There should be some context with how Loveland started the season last year. When he entered training camp as a rookie, he was still recovering from an injury he sustained in college. That made the beginning of the 2025 season his time to acclimate to the NFL when he could have done that in camp.
His breakout performance against the Bengals was the start of Loveland showing what he is capable of and his production at the end of last season shows what he brings to the table as a fantasy prospect.
Therefore, his characterization as someone who had a spite in production for two months but otherwise did not do much is not fair for evaluating Loveland as a fantasy prospect. Furthermore, Loveland is not a candidate for regression. Quite the opposite really. He now has a year under his belt, is familiar with the system and has developed chemistry with quarterback Caleb Williams.
If you can get Loveland on your fantasy roster, you will have a good year at the tight end position as he is in the top-three among fantasy tight ends. Only Brock Bowers and Trey McBride could be considered better fantasy prospects given the lack of other targets on the Las Vegas Raiders for Bowers and Arizona Cardinals for McBride.
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This article originally appeared on Bears Wire: PFF dubs Bears playmaker breakout candidate in fantasy football
Reporting by Ariana Pensy, Bears Wire / Bears Wire
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By Ariana Pensy, Bears Wire | USA TODAY Network
