Colston Loveland has been one of my favorite tight ends to talk about this season. Yes, even more than Colts’ new tight end Tyler Warren. One of the biggest reasons is because of the new Bears head coach Ben Johnson. Johnson’s offense with the Detroit Lions was one of the more talked-about offensive schemes in the league during his tenure, and the potential to transplant it over to the Bears this season. And that’s where Coltson can come in and shine.
The parallels are all there in front of us. The Bears used a top 10 draft pick to bring in Loveland despite already having a top tight end on the roster in Cole Kmet. Sound familiar? That’s because the Lions did something similar when they drafted Sam LaPorta despite having TJ Hockenson. Then they traded away Hockenson to the. Vikings and the rest is now history. And now it looks like history may repeat itself with Cole Kmet and Colston Loveland.
Loveland Pre-Draft scouting reports highlighted his blocking ability, which is essential for him to remain on the field on multiple downs. But what sets Loveland apart from the other tight ends in his draft class is his pass-catching and route running. Loveland is one of the best route-running tight ends to come out of the 2025 NFL Draft class. Even more so when you consider his size.
The 6’6″, 250-pound tight end looked good during the NFL combine, ranking ninth in the athleticism score test. What is even funnier is that Loveland’s NFL comp was Sam LaPorta. Loveland can make plays at all levels of the field, which is something the Bears looked to add to Caleb Williams’ arsenal this season by providing him with as many weapons as they can. In terms of his route-running, Loveland can run various routes, which allows him to be added to play designs that help take advantage of mismatched and defensive schemes.
Loveland’s strong hands, great routes, along with his size and speed, make him an ideal piece for fantasy managers in both Redraft and dynasty formats to target this season.
Colston Loveland Fantasy Outlook
While I don’t want to say that Loveland will have a similar season to what Sam LaPorta had when the Lions drafted him, it’s hard not to expect something close to it. As previously mentioned, Ben Johnson was the orchestrator of the Lions’ offense and LaPorta’s outstanding rookie season. LaPorta saw 120 targets in his rookie season and led all fantasy tight ends in total fantasy points. LaPorta’s season was great but make no mistake, I’m not saying that’s a benchmark for what Colston Loveland’s season could be.
There are some factors to consider before jumping off the bridge in Loveland. For starters, Loveland has missed time during the offseason due to getting surgery in January on his shoulder. However, he’s expected to be ready for the beginning of training camp, so that’s good news. There’s also the other pass-catchers that Loveland will have to deal with. DJ Moore, Rome Odunze, and rookie wide receiver Luther Burden are there, and Cole Kmet is still expected to have a role in the offense. I believe that Loveland’s pass-catching skill is too great to sideline him once he gets up to speed. The investment in draft capital is another reason why I believe Kmet’s role as a pass-catcher gets reduced in favor of Loveland this season. It’s just a matter of “when”.
FantasyData has Colston Loveland being drafted as the TE13 heading into draft season, between Cowboys tight end Jake Ferguson and Bills tight end Dalton Kincaid in PPR formats. For Redraft, I can see where Loveland falls a bit further after those names come off the board, so I would be keeping an eye on the tight end position to see how cheap he can get before I pull the trigger. My suggestion for fantasy managers looking to target Loveland this season in Redraft formats would be to make sure they have a viable option as their TE1.
I believe Loveland has the potential to be a top 10 tight end for fantasy this season in Ben Johnson’s system. It comes down to Caleb Williams taking the next step as a quarterback but if Johnson can turn Jared Goff into a viable quarterback, there’s hope for the former first overall pick yet.
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