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Bears tight ends make emphatic statement in preseason game vs Bills

Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson is known to use his tight ends more than most coaches, and these Bears appear up to the task.
Pete Martuneac|
Daniel Bartel-Imagn Images

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Chicago Bears

The Chicago Bears caused quite the stir on draft night when, with the tenth overall selection, they picked tight end Colston Loveland. It wasn't a bad pick by any means, but it was surprising because the Bears already had tight end Cole Kmet, a five-year veteran with a fresh contract extension, on the roster. Some NFL analysts took this pick as a sign that Kmet would soon hit the trading block, but the fact is that head coach Ben Johnson loves using his tight ends.

While the offensive coordinator for Detroit, Johnson ran more 12-personnel (meaning 1 running back and 2 tight ends) than almost anyone else in the NFL. It makes sense then that the Bears would want to have two excellent tight ends to help make Johnson's offense work in Chicago just as well as it did in Detroit.

The regular season may still be three weeks away, but early returns on the tight ends are encouraging. In their preseason game against the Buffalo Bills on Sunday night, Kmet and Loveland played in two drives with quarterback Caleb Williams, and both tight ends showed out. Kmet caught his only target, a beautiful seam pass up the middle for a 29-yard gain, while Loveland reeled in both of his targets, including one for which he had to stretch, and racked up 26 receiving yards.

At the end of the day, the two tight ends caught just three passes in a preseason game. They still need to prove themselves once the regular season begins on September 8th. But our first look at them in Chicago's starting offense was positive enough to feel confident that they can replicate this performance when the games actually matter.

Many Bears fans are loath to get their hopes up once again, but this hype train is picking up steam, and it's going to be hard to slow down any time soon.

Colston Lovelan
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Pete Martuneac
PETE MARTUNEAC

A former Marine and Purdue Boilermaker, Pete has been covering the Chicago Bears since 2022 as a senior contributor on BearsTalk. He lives with his wife, two kids and loyal dog.

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