Who Should I Start? Hunter Henry or Colston Loveland

Thursday, May 29, 1:21 PM

New England Patriots tight end Hunter Henry (foot) is in attendance and taking part in voluntary organized team activities this week, according to ESPN's Mike Reiss. Henry was not limited in any capacity during Wednesday's session despite missing the Week 18 regular-season finale last year due to a foot injury. The 30-year-old former second-round pick (35th overall) by the Los Angeles Chargers in 2016 out of Arkansas set career-highs in catches (66), targets (97) and receiving yards (674) while scoring just twice in 16 starts for the Patriots in his fourth year with the team in 2024. Austin Hooper, who caught 45 passes a year ago, remains in town, but Henry is the team's unquestioned top pass-catching tight end, and he has strong chemistry with second-year quarterback Drake Maye. Henry should find the end more in 2025, but the addition of receiver Stefon Diggs will take away valuable targets.

Tuesday, July 29, 7:24 PM

The Athletic's Kevin Fishbain writes that rookie first-round tight end Colston Loveland is doing it all in training camp practices and "has already looked the part." Head coach Ben Johnson said that Colston's instincts showed up right away, and he's also proved that his surgically-repaired shoulder is just fine. The 21-year-old was eased into training camp after having offseason surgery, but it appears he's made up for lost time and is impressing as both a pass-catcher and blocker early on. Fishbain writes that he also expects Loveland to gain more chemistry with quarterback Caleb Williams the more they work together. The Bears drafted Loveland 10th overall for a reason, and he has the kind of upside that we saw with Brock Bowers in Vegas a year ago. However, there are plenty of mouths to feed in Chicago and he'll battle for targets next to Cole Kmet. Loveland should be considered a midrange TE2 with upside.