There has been a lot of hype around Chicago Bears second-year tight end Colston Loveland and deservedly so. As a rookie, Loveland led the Bears in receptions and receiving yards last season and is poised to be one of the best tight ends in the NFL this season.
Speaking on NFL Spotlight with Ari Meirov, long-time Chicago Bears insider Adam Hoge compared Loveland to a wide receiver in how he runs routes and how opposing defenses have to cover him.
"He runs routes like a wide receiver," Hoge said. "As long as he’s on the field, defenses will have to leave someone else in a disadvantageous position because he’s that good of a mismatch weapon."
Loveland was not able to participate in training camp last season due to an injury he suffered his final year
of college at Michigan. That caused him to start the regular season slow back in 2025. In fact, he did not top 40 receiving yards until his breakout performance against the Cincinnati Bengals, where he had six receptions for 118 yards and two touchdowns, including the game-winning score.
Now that he was able to participate in training camp this year and played in 16 regular season games last year, Loveland should start out the 2026 season much faster. Chicago has a lot of playmakers on offense, but with Loveland topping 700 receiving yards last year, it is not out of the realm of possibility for him to hit 1,000 yards this season.
If he were to reach 1,000 receiving yards, he would become only the second Bears tight end all-time to accomplish this feat. The first was Hall-of-Famer Mike Ditka who hit 1,000 yards in 1961.
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This article originally appeared on Bears Wire: Bears insider explains why Colston Loveland is elite 'mismatch weapon'
