Will Chicago Bears tight ends ball out in 2025? Top NFL analyst says yes. And no.

Selected at the ten-spot in the 2025 NFL Draft by Chicago, the tight end out of Michigan will be given all the chances in the world to thrive—and he’d better make some noise, or else there’ll be a whole lot of folks in the Bears’ front office wiping eggs off their faces.

But never fear, Bears Nation, because former Yahoo and ESPN NFL contributor Andy Beherns told Chicago Sports Stuff that Loveland will be just fine.

As for veteran Bears TE Cole Kmet, not so much.

The Good

Behrens sees Loveland making an immediate impact, saying, “He's just a very gifted receiver, and if Ben Johnson's offense is what we think it can be—and if Caleb Williams becomes what we think he can be—Loveland can be a star, the kind of guy who settles in as an 1,100 yard receiver and gives you eight touchdowns, ten touchdowns, 12 touchdowns—numbers that allow a player to finish in fantasy as the TE1. He has a chance to be really special.”

The pundit was on the Loveland train back in 2023, recalling, “For me, he’s one of those guys like Jordan Addison. When you have NFL draft columns to write, and mock drafts to produce, you have to do your scouting. I still remember scouting Kenny Pickett and Addison [in 2023], and Addison made everything happen for Pickett. I was like, Forget the quarterback, I want this guy.”

The Bad

As for the vet Kmet, Behrens wasn’t as optimistic. Not even a little bit.

“Kmet is not a perfect tight end, by any means. He's the sort of guy who, if he were attached to an offense that put up 5,000 passing yards, could back into some TE6-ish numbers, [but] I don't think he's a guy who can get it on his own. If Cole Kmet is going to be fantasy relevant, this offense will need to be spectacular, and I just don’t see it.”

The Grades

Taking all of that into account, Behrens’ final grades for the two TEs won’t be at all a surprise.

“Best case scenario for Loveland will be an A. Kmet is more like a C-minus.”

Which could mean that come 2026, Cole Kmet might well be wearing another uniform.