Colston Loveland Fantasy Overview

Production & Fantasy Finishes

Loveland reeled in 58 balls for 713 yards and 6 TDs across 16 games last year, finishing 16th among TEs in PPR points per game and 15th in half-PPR.

Loveland’s production trended up throughout his rookie season. He ranked just 48th at his position in PPR points per game through Week 8. But from Week 9 through 18, Loveland scored as the TE5.

And he closed the season strong. Over his final four games, including the playoffs, Loveland averaged:

• 7.0 catches
• 94.5 yards
• 0.5 TDs

Usage & Role

Loveland opened the season behind TE Cole Kmet, running fewer routes than the veteran in each of Chicago’s first three games.

Loveland edged Kmet in routes (39% to 30%) coming off the Week 5 bye and then topped a 51% route rate in each of his final 12 games.

Loveland didn’t truly capture a full-time role until Week 16, though. Over his final five games, including the playoffs, he:

• Ran a route on 80% of pass plays
• Drew a 25.1% target share
• Averaged 19.1 expected PPR points per game

For perspective, Trey McBride led all TEs last year with a 25.4% target share and 18.6 expected PPR points per game.

Two more notes on Loveland’s usage last year:

1. He tied for second among 38 qualifying TEs with a 9.5-yard average target depth.
2. His 13 red-zone targets led the Bears and tied for 13th among all TEs.

Efficiency & Regression

Loveland caught 70.7% of his targets and averaged 12.3 yards per catch last year. His 8.7 yards per target ranked 10th among 39 TEs with 30+ targets.

He was just as efficient on a per-route basis. Among those 39 TEs, Loveland ranked:

• 10th in targets per route (0.22)
• fifth in yards per route (2.00)

Even more exciting is that Loveland’s per-route efficiency improved when his role expanded late in the season. Over his final five games, including playoffs, he averaged:

• 0.31 targets per route
• 2.49 yards per route

Loveland also popped in film-based metrics. Among those 39 TEs, he ranked:

• seventh in Fantasy Points separation score
• 21st in ESPN receiver score
• third in Pro Football Focus receiving grade

Offensive Context

The 2025 Bears finished sixth in total yards and ninth in points. It was a run-leaning offense, ranking:

• 24th in pass rate
• 21st in neutral pass rate
• 20th in pass rate over expected

But the Bears ranked sixth in offensive pace (seconds per play) and second in total plays. That vaulted them to 10th in pass attempts.

QB Caleb Williams had an uneven sophomore season. He flashed his ceiling on plenty of occasions but also ranked 36th or worse among 42 qualifying QBs in:

• Completion rate
• Adjusted completion rate
• Completion rate over expected
• On-target pass percentage

Loveland’s 75% catchable-target rate ranked 36th among 39 qualifying TEs.

Historical Production & Trends

Loveland was the 10th pick of the 2025 draft, four spots ahead of TE Tyler Warren.

Loveland never matched Warren in raw college production because he played on super run-heavy Michigan teams. Even so, he finished second among Wolverines in receiving yards (649) and TDs (4) as a true sophomore before leading the team in both categories as a junior (582 yards, 5 TDs).

Loveland’s career 49.6% college dominator (share of team’s receiving yards and TDs) was a 100th-percentile mark at his position, according to Player Profiler.

Injury History & Durability

Loveland played most of his final college season with a dislocated AC joint in his right shoulder and had surgery in January 2025. That prevented him from working out prior to the NFL Draft and sidelined him last spring. Loveland was ready for training camp, though, and had no shoulder issues as a rookie.

He missed Week 4 with a hip injury and sustained a concussion in Chicago’s playoff loss to the Rams. That was Loveland’s second documented concussion, with the first coming in November 2024.

Projected Role & Competition

The Bears return TE Cole Kmet and added TE Sam Roush in Round 3 of this spring’s draft. It’s a crowded TE room, but we have no doubt that Loveland will be the leader and a full-time player in 2026.

In fact, he finds added target opportunity with the offseason trade of WR D.J. Moore to Buffalo. Moore ranked second among Bears last year with 85 targets. His departure leaves Chicago’s WR corps promising but thin, with Kalif Raymond, Jahdae Walker, and rookie Zavion Thomas behind youngsters Luther Burden and Rome Odunze.

This should be a concentrated passing game, with Loveland, Burden, and Odunze controlling targets.

Supporting Cast

QB Caleb Williams is back for his third NFL campaign. He improved from Year 1 to Year 2 and flashed an exciting ceiling at times last season. But he’ll need to improve further to fully unlock Loveland’s upside.

The Bears also have a couple of questions on the offensive line.

LT Ozzy Trapilo went down with a ruptured patellar tendon in last year’s Wild Card win over the Packers. That has him unlikely to be ready for the start of this season and leaves Braxton Jones, Theo Benedet, and Jedrick Wills competing for the starting job this summer.

The Bears also lost C Drew Dalman to retirement this offseason. He’s expected to be replaced by Garrett Bradbury, who was acquired from New England via trade in March. Bradbury started all 17 games for the Patriots last year but ranked just 21st among 36 qualifying centers in Pro Football Focus’ 2025 pass-blocking grades.

Chicago returns three 2025 starters in RT Darnell Wright, RG Jonah Jackson, and LG Joe Thuney. But this unit could take at least a slight step back this season.

Coaching & Offensive Scheme

HC Ben Johnson returns for Year 2 with the Bears. Chicago went from bottom-5 in points and yards in 2024 to top-9 in both categories under Johnson. That followed this three-year run in Detroit for Johnson:

Johnson has been a run-leaning play caller, with all four of his offenses finishing between 20th and 25th in neutral pass rate.

But he’s also landed all four of those offenses inside the top-14 in total plays, including top-2 finishes in 2024 and 2025. That’s helped each of Johnson’s teams rank in the top half of the league in pass attempts.

Johnson has also been friendly to TEs. Last year’s Bears ranked ninth in total TE PPR points, Sam LaPorta finished TE3 and TE9 under Johnson in 2023 and 2024, and T.J. Hockenson was TE4 through Week 8 of the 2022 season before being traded to Minnesota.

Paths to Ceiling

We saw the ceiling last year, albeit in a small sample, when Loveland averaged 16.8 PPR points over his final five games.

He has the potential to combine high-end efficiency with strong volume for the 2026 Bears. If Williams improves in his third season, Loveland could compete with Brock Bowers and Trey McBride for overall TE1 honors.

Risk Factors

There’s some small-sample risk here considering we saw Loveland in a full-time role for only five games last season. Williams’ inconsistent accuracy also adds volatility to the entire passing game.

If things go sideways for the offense, Loveland could be just a middling TE1 who doesn’t separate from the rest of the pack at the position. His (fairly high) TE3 ADP increases the negative impact of that potential outcome.