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ESPN fuels hype for Bears TE Colston Loveland entering 2025 NFL season

Originally posted on Chicago Bears on SI | By Bryan Perez | Last updated Aug 28, 2025 1:50 PM ET

Chicago Bears first-round pick Colston Loveland has looked the part during the 2025 NFL preseason. The pass-catching tight end from Michigan was billed as a walking mismatch for coach Ben Johnson. He made several impressive plays during the preseason's slate of games, and the hype for a breakout rookie season is reaching a boil.

ESPN's Dan Graziano added fuel to the Loveland fire when he suggested that Loveland will be a huge part of the Bears' offense in 2025.

"Loveland is the guy whose name comes up every time I ask somebody about Bears camp," Graziano wrote . "He's quarterback-friendly. He's big and fast. He's polished in his route running. He was healthy to start training camp, so he advanced quickly once August got going. And his connection with quarterback Caleb Williams is said to already be outstanding. The Bears have a lot of very good pass catchers, with DJ Moore, Rome Odunze, Cole Kmet and Luther Burden III. But as Williams continues his development under new coach Ben Johnson, he could lean on Loveland a lot -- especially early."

None of what Graziano said is particularly earth-shattering, but the fact that Halas Hall is buzzing with excitement about Loveland suggests his role could be larger than the traditional rookie during the first month of the season.

What we do know is that Loveland has serious competition for targets. In fact, the presence of DJ Moore, Rome Odunze, Olamide Zaccheaus, and Luther Burden III will ultimately chip away at all of the pass catchers' production. The Bears' 2025 box scores are unlikely to tell the full story of the impact each player individually makes. Instead, the cumulative effect -- Caleb Williams throwing for 4,000 yards? -- will be a better indicator.

As for Colston Loveland, I'd pump the brakes on any projection that expects a Brock Bowers-like rookie year. Even Sam LaPorta's 10-touchdown season seems like a difficult goal to achieve.

Instead, I'd look at a year like Cole Kmet had in 2023, when he totaled 719 yards and six touchdowns as a realistic first-year target for Loveland.

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

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