Chicago Bears Top 26 of 2026: Colston Loveland Primed for Superstardom

Chicago Bears tight end Colston Loveland falls just outside of the top five in our list of the top players on the team for 2026.

Chicago Bears tight end Colston Loveland. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

In our trip through the top 26 Chicago Bears players ahead of the 2026 campaign, our next stop is at No. 6 on the list with tight end Colston Loveland.

Drafted in the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft, the Loveland pick in the top 10 was controversial for a few reasons. The Bears didn't have a dire need at the position, and many believed Tyler Warren should have been the first tight end off the board instead of Loveland.

If a team takes a tight end that high, that tight end must develop into an elite player in order to justify such a selection. Safe to say, taking Loveland has proven to be the right pick thus far following what was an electric rookie season for him.

Colston Loveland 2025 review

Chicago Bears tight end Colston Loveland. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Loveland certainly wasn't electric out of the gate. Over his first six games, Loveland didn't record over 38 yards in any one of them and missed one contest due to injury.

Then, in Week 9, Loveland exploded for his first 100-yard game when he ripped off 118 and a pair of touchdowns against the Cincinnati Bengals that included a game-winning 58-yard touchdown grab.

Loveland didn't have any more offensive explosions over the next seven games, but he remained a consistent contributor in the offense and kept building trust with the coaching staff.

The Michigan product closed out the regular season with a pair of games over 90 yards and a touchdown before having a career-best game in the wild-card matchup against the Green Bay Packers, when he racked up 137 yards on eight catches.

With a four-catch, 56-yard showing in the playoff loss to the Los Angeles Rams, Loveland finished off his impressive rookie year with 378 yards and two scores over his last four games.

In all, Loveland led the Bears in receiving yards with 713 and that showing overall combined with his strong performance over the final four games leave expectations sky high for him in 2026.

Colston Loveland's 2026 outlook

Chicago Bears tight end Colston Loveland. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

In his second season, Loveland has an opportunity to cement himself as one of the true elite tight ends in the NFL.

Along with Rome Odunze and Luther Burden, Loveland is going to be one of the top targets for Caleb Williams, and he has a great chance to lead the team in receiving yards once again.

In order to take his game to the next level, Loveland's focus will be on improving his route tree, something head coach Ben Johnson touched on last month.

"I’m really happy with where he's at right now," Johnson said of his budding star tight end. "We've been able to take the route tree to the next level, and it's something we're going to continue to develop in training camp as well."

Our prediction for 2026 is Loveland takes the next step in his career and not only leads the team in receiving yards but also breaks Mike Ditka's franchise record for the most receiving yardage by a tight end in a single season (1,076).