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Bear Digest

Colston Loveland Earns Elite Ranking in Most Critical Area of All

Rankings are like opinions and not really worth much unto themselves but the second-year Bears tight end has received high marks where it counts most.
Gene Chamberlain|
Colston Loveland bulls forward after a catch against the Rams in the NFC divisional playoffs.
Colston Loveland bulls forward after a catch against the Rams in the NFC divisional playoffs. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

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Chicago Bears

From looking at offseason wide receiver rankings around the league, it would seem like Caleb Williams is going to have to throw the ball and catch it himself this year.

While Bears wide receivers have been overlooked or largely disrespected during rankings season, with the occasional exception of Luther Burden III, the same can't be said about second-year tight end Colston Loveland. It is the tight end position where the Bears offense will focus or revolve around, and should after he set an NFL rookie tight end record for total postseason receiving yards at 193.

Loveland has been ranked fifth among tight ends by Pro Football Focus, seventh among an ESPN panel of executives, scouts and coaches, and sixth according to SI.com. In most rankings, they have him below Tucker Kraft even though Kraft has never gone over 50 receptions and Loveland did this in his rookie year without a prior offseason of work.

Their faulty reasoning is best described by ESPN's ranking article which said Kraft was "pacing for 1,000-plus yards and 10-touchdowns before going down in Week 9 with an ACL tear in his right knee." This is a rather flimsy basis for a ranking. Rome Odunze was tracking for 1,100 yards and 12 touchdowns until he ran into injury difficulties, too, then wound up with lower totals and the label "disappointing." But no one is ranking him high among wide receivers, so how does Kraft rate so high?

Colston Loveland's important ranking

You're only as good — and should be — as good your actual production says. Projections ultimately mean nothing beyond filling up cyberspace and, actually, rankings also mean nothing.

That is, except for one important ranking where Loveland is No. 2 in the league among rising veteran star players regardless of position. This is the players union rankings for rising stars based on expected impact in retail sales. You see, money talks, and here projection and rankings meet and it means much more.

Loveland ranks on the NFLPA list second overall for veteran players behind only Saints quarterback Tyler Shough and just ahead of Raiders tight end Brock Bowers.

It's a curious that Bowers would be ranked on a list like this among "rising stars" when he has been around two seasons and has already been established with a record rookie year in 2024.

Also, how Shough could be listed No. 1 is a mystery when he is playing for a franchise with much less national fan interest than the Bears.

Potential sales for Loveland seem limitless, especially with Caleb Williams throwing him the ball. And, by the way, if Bowers can be on this list of rising stars in his third year, then why can't Caleb Williams?

Regardless, this list is more important than the other tight end rankings because it reflects the marketplace. Someone's opinion of whether Loveland ranks below Sam LaPorta or Kraft or Tyler Warren ultimately means little to anyone except fantasy football owners or their team's actual fans.

What it's based on

The NFLPA describes this ranking as one based on: collegiate NIL exposure, early demand from NFLPA partners for content and marketing, support from stronger team fan bases, product submissions from more than 85 NFLPA licenses, social media and audience growth, and participation in the Rookie Premiere. This is a three-day convention where a group of rookies are exposed to the business side of the NFL. Loveland participated in this.

So Loveland is set up for success off the field and on it.

It would be no surprise if his jersey No. 84 becomes the second-most popular. In fact, he had already tracked ninth among overall rookie sales a month after the 2025 NFL Draft.

Loveland's popularity is exploding at the same rate his abilities have come to light. In a season when he has been able to work at fitting into this offense and with his starting quarterback through a full offseason after he couldn't last year due to injury, there can be little doubt about his ascension as both a player and a revenue generator.

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Published
Gene Chamberlain
GENE CHAMBERLAIN

Gene Chamberlain has covered the Chicago Bears full time as a beat writer since 1994 and prior to this on a part-time basis for 10 years. He covered the Bears as a beat writer for Suburban Chicago Newspapers, the Daily Southtown, Copley News Service and has been a contributor for the Daily Herald, the Associated Press, Bear Report, CBS Sports.com and The Sporting News. He also has worked a prep sports writer for Tribune Newspapers and Sun-Times newspapers.

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