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ESPN analyst predicts Chicago Bears' Colston Loveland will win massive award in 2025

Originally posted on Chicago Bears on SI
By Pete Martuneac | Last updated May 9, 2025 10:08 AM ET

If the name 'Anthony Thomas' stands out to you, you must be a die-hard, long-suffering Chicago Bears fan. For everyone else, Anthony Thomas was a running back for the Chicago Bears in the early 2000s.

Selected with the 38th overall pick in 2001, he went on to be the NFL's Offensive Rookie of the Year. As it happens, he was the last Chicago Bear to win this particular award.

That's set to change in 2025, if you believe ESPN's Dan Orlovsky. The former Detroit Lions quarterback, Orlovsky made a somewhat surprising pick to be this year's Offensive Rookie of the Year: tight end Colston Loveland.

"The middle of the field and play-action should be huge areas of attack for Chicago," Orlovsky wrote, also noting that "Loveland can replicate Sam LaPorta's rookie year production, which Bears coach Ben Johnson played a big role in scheming up while in Detroit."

Loveland, who just signed his fully guaranteed rookie deal with Chicago , could make an immediate and significant impact in Chicago's offense. As Orlovsky noted, Bears head coach Ben Johnson got incredible production out of then-rookie tight end Sam LaPorta, and Loveland projects to be the same kind of player in the pros.

The one roadblock that could derail Loveland's rookie of the year campaign? His own teammate, Cole Kmet. One of the most sure-handed tight ends in the NFL and by now a dependable veteran, Kmet should be a prominent feature of Ben Johnson's offense and will likely preclude Loveland from stuffing the stat sheet every week.

However, Ben Johnson runs 12-personnel (plays that utilize two tight ends) more than almost anyone in the NFL. The opportunities will be there for Loveland, and if he makes the most of them while helping the Bears to win a lot of games, the Rookie of the Year award could very well be his to lose.

This article first appeared on Chicago Bears on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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