Despite a breakout campaign and clutch playoff heroics, Chicago’s dynamic tight end remains overlooked. Discover why his elite production outshines bigger names on the NFL’s latest rankings.
Of all the rookies the Chicago Bears drafted last year, few were as impactful as Colston Loveland.
It took him a while to get going, but when he did, it became clear that he was absolutely the right pick at No. 10 overall in the 2025 NFL Draft.
Loveland played college football at Michigan, which had an offense predicated on establishing the run. To give you an idea of how much Michigan prioritized running the football, in his final season at Michigan in 2024, he led the team with 582 receiving yards.
Loveland announced his arrival in Week 9 against the Cincinnati Bengals.
The game was on the road at Paycor Stadium, and the Bears faced Joe Flacco, who started the season with the Cleveland Browns and was traded to the Bengals after Joe Burrow went down with a turf toe injury.
The Bengals and Bears went blow for blow, lighting up the scoreboard. Loveland scored his first NFL touchdown on a five-yard pass from Caleb Williams in the red zone.
He then scored the go-ahead touchdown late in the fourth quarter on a 58-yard pass, breaking multiple tackles on his way to the end zone.
Loveland continued to string together strong performances throughout the season and into the playoffs. He had 138 receiving yards in the win over the Green Bay Packers in the Wild Card.
The rookie ended up leading the Bears with 713 receiving yards and six touchdowns.
Even after having a successful rookie campaign, Loveland isn't getting enough respect from the NFL. He made NFL on CBS's list of the top 25 players under 25.
Loveland came in at No. 25, which seems a little too low considering some of the players ranked ahead of him.
He was the second tight end to make the list.
Las Vegas Raiders TE Brock Bowers was ranked ahead of him at No. 13. Bowers missed time last season due to injury and has another year of NFL experience over Loveland, but after what we saw last season, he shouldn't be ranked that much higher than him.
My main complaint is with Joe Alt.
Alt just wrapped up his second NFL season with the Los Angeles Chargers and was ranked No. 24. The problem is that last season he played only six games due to injury.
Then you have Sauce Gardner at No. 23, who is a great player when healthy. However, he played in only four games for the Indianapolis Colts last season due to a calf injury.
The list clearly isn't perfect, but it's good that Loveland is still being recognized as one of the best players for his age group, even if his ranking is a tad lower than it should be.
One thing Bears fans can agree on is that it's a good thing that none of the Packers players are on the list.
People underestimated Loveland last season, and he showed them why that was a mistake. It looks like he may have to prove himself again in 2026.
