In 2025, the Chicago Bears used 12 personnel (one running back, two tight ends), the sixth-most in the league, and 13 personnel, the fifth-most. Overall, the Bears played with at least two tight ends on the field about 45% of the time.
So those numbers are high, but how did the offense perform in those situations?
In EPA (Expected Points Added), the Bears were eighth best when in 12 personnel and ninth best when in 13, so it makes sense that this will continue to be a big part of Ben Johnson’s offense.
Pro Football Focus recently ranked the top 32 tight ends in the NFL, and the Bears had two of them.
Second-year pro Colston Loveland, who turned 22 in April, ranked fifth, and grizzled veteran Cole Kmet, who is just 27 years old, ranked 31st.
“After a quiet start to his rookie campaign, Loveland really turned it on in the second half of the season,” PFF wrote. “The No. 10 overall pick’s 84.0 PFF grade was third among all tight ends in the NFL, while his 1.97 yards per route run were fifth. Loveland’s 597 receiving yards from Week 9 on were second in the league, while his 193 yards in the playoffs led all tight ends despite the Bears losing in the divisional round.”
Loveland’s talent and versatility give him a legitimate chance at being the best tight end in the NFL in 2026.
“Kmet continues to play an important role despite the presence of star youngster Colston Loveland,” PFF continued. “While Kmet hasn’t quite recaptured his peak receiving performance, he’s still averaged over 10 yards per reception in each of the past two seasons while tallying six touchdowns in the process. Kmet’s value as a blocker is also extremely important when it comes to maintaining the flexibility in Ben Johnson’s offense.”
These two are a big reason why, in our latest Reacts poll, you voted the Bears’ tight end position group as the one you’re most confident in. But it’s not the only reason, because the Bears spent a second-round draft pick on Stanford’s Sam Roush.
Roush brings the reputation of being an exceptional blocker, and that’s exactly what you want in your TE3, but defenses better not underestimate his athleticism.
Last month, Bears quarterback Caleb Williams was on the New Heights podcast with Jason and Travis Kelce, and when Travis mentioned that the Bears’ tight end room was one of his favorites in the NFL because “you got two absolute dogs,” Williams was quick to point out Roush.
“I got a third one now,” Caleb said. “We got a new guy, new rookie guy. He’s built like the other guys also, tall, smooth, he’s a freak of nature. Run block, pass block, catch, all of that. Whatever we need. We’ve got three of those now. We’re juiced, I’m juiced. It’s always an advantage when you can have one tight end, but when you have three that can do it all, it’s a big advantage.”
If the Bears increase their 12 nd 13 use in 2026, then Roush, who will turn 23 in September, will likely get more offensive snaps than last year’s number three tight end, Durham Smythe, who played about a quarter of the time (293 snaps). Roush also brings plenty of experience playing special teams with him (over 500 snaps at Stanford), so he’ll be a factor in the third phase too.
Our Partners at FanDuel Sportsbook have Roush with some extremely long odds to win Rookie of the Year (+25,000), but you can get Loveland at -114 to go over or under 775.5 receiving yards. If you’re feeling really lucky, you can grab Loveland to win Offensive Player of the Year at +10,000.
Besides our weekly SB Nation Reacts poll questions here at WCG, you can sign up here to participate in their emailed surveys with questions about the entire NFL.
