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Colston Loveland has wasted no time turning heads after finally hitting the field with the rest of the offense at Bears training camp
Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images

The Chicago Bears got a welcome sight on Saturday when rookie first-round pick Colston Loveland joined the rest of the offense on the field and started getting integrated with the unit.

Loveland missed all of the spring practices and first days of training camp while rehabbing from an offseason shoulder surgery to repair an AC joint injury.

On Monday, when the pads came on, Loveland's practice availability increased even more. He was able to go full contact and even went up high for a reception and landed hard after the catch, showing how far he's come from in the recovery process.

"I wouldn't say scared, it's just getting used to falling on it again," Loveland explained while speaking with reporters on Tuesday. "[The shoulder] feels good. I feel like falling on it is helping get it acclimated to football. It feels great."

On Tuesday, Loveland reportedly was continuing to impress out on the field showing off his size and speed in the offense, including converting a key third-down in situational drills. But, it's not just his play-making ability as a receiver that's impressed the staff.

"You can't gauge, until you get him on the field, the football instincts. And it showed up from the get-go," head coach Ben Johnson explained on Tuesday before practice. "He had a particular block the other day where the defensive end looked to spin out of it and he was able to anticipate that and able to stay on top of it."

When it comes to getting up to speed so fast and catching up to the offense, Loveland noted it all had to do with his preparation while being sidelined.

"I'm sitting in the same meetings everyone's sitting in, getting coached the same way everyone's getting coached," Loveland said. "No different at all, just being out there."

For this offense specifically, it's a lot for any rookie to grasp and not just at the tight end position. Ben Johnson's offense is filled with various motions and formations that all players need to be aware of and ready to execute on the field.

"As an offense, they teach us to learn conceptually," Loveland explained. "Because there are formations we'll be out wide, receivers will be in tight doing tight end things. So, the easiest way to do it is just learn conceptually. Learn the formations as a whole, learn the plays as a whole. That's a great thing about this offense. You can be anywhere."

As a former wide receiver with a unique skillset, learning conceptually and being used anywhere is key for a player who can be a secret weapon in this offense. It's great to see the rookie already hitting the ground running out there on the field because big things are on the horizon.

This article first appeared on A to Z Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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