NFL: Buffalo Bills at Chicago Bears Chicago Bears Colston Loveland catches a pass against the Bills – Credit: David Banks-Imagn Images

Ben Johnson earns fiery endorsement from standout ex-Chicago Bears tight end

Originally posted on ChiCitySports | By Dan Fappiano | Last updated Aug 18, 2025 5:04 PM ET

Greg Olsen is well aware of how to succeed as a tight end for the Chicago Bears. As he watched the team’s 38-0 takedown of the Buffalo Bills, Olsen got a full view of new head coach Ben Johnson’s dynamic tight end plans.

Despite already having Cole Kmet on their roster, the Bears used their No. 10 overall pick on Colston Loveland. Still, head coach Ben Johnson was known to run plenty of 12 personnel during his time with the Detroit Lions. Furthermore, both players give the Bears completely different skillsets, allowing Johnson to be versatile in how he draws up plays for his tight ends.

Against the Bills, Kmet caught a long pass up the middle for 29 yards while Loveland made a pair of grabs for 26 yards. Both were featured in the offense when the starters were on the field. Olsen doesn’t think that’ll go away anytime soon once the regular season begins, via Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune.

“I do think the consistency of early down 12 personnel with Cole and Colston, I think that is something they’re going to want to continue to major in,” Olsen said. “I think that’s going to be a big part of their offense.”

“Their ability to go between 11 big with Cole and 11 faster with Colston is kind of similar to what me and Dez (Clark) used to do early in my career,” he continued. “And then the 12 personnel stuff with DJ, Rome and obviously Luther the rookie, who they love, and Olamide, that’s a really good group of guys that you can build different personnel groupings with. You don’t draft a tight end 10th overall if you don’t have big visions for what he can do.”

Ben Johnson ready to unleash Chicago Bears tight end tandem

The Bears made Loveland the first tight end off of the 2025 draft board primarily due to his pass-catching ability. Johnson found massive success with Sam LaPorta during his time on the Lions. Now, Loveland is the head coach’s next chess piece to mold.

During his three years at Michigan, Loveland caught 117 passes for 1,466 yards and 11 touchdowns. Now in Chicago, Johnson will be looking to get Loveland open in space. The tight end will be a mismatch for most linebackers due to his size and athleticism. Which is exactly why Johnson had to have him in his first Bears offense.

Kmet has been with the franchise since 2020, appearing in 84 games. He has been a staple of the offense, catching 258 passes for 2,592 yards and 19 touchdowns. Kmet will continue to operate as a safety blanket for Williams while Johnson is adamant he’ll remain a key piece of the offense. While it was just one play in a preseason game, Kmet proved his connection with Williams remains strong.

Johnson will need to figure out exactly how to make all the tight end puzzle pieces fit together. But all of Chicago’s opponents are going to have a difficult time stopping the one-two punch at tight end.