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Bears' Colston Loveland Earns Spot in PFF's Top 101 List

Is Colston Loveland about to become the best tight end in football?
Pete Martuneac|
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Chicago Bears

Chicago Bears general manager Ryan Poles has made some good draft selections over the last four years, but drafting tight end Colston Loveland with the No. 10 overall pick in the 2025 NFL draft is looking like his biggest home run yet. Most of the NFL draft community scratched their head when this pick was announced, including yours truly. I wrote at the time that Colston Loveland was the wrong pick for the Chicago Bears, but this is why Ryan Poles is the GM instead of me.

Despite a slow start to his season, Loveland ended up proving all the doubters wrong. He made history after an epic Week 9 game against the Bengals, becoming the first tight end to be named NFC Offensive Player of the Week since Jeremy Shockey did it in 2002. Loveland didn't stop there either, as he set an NFL record in the Bears' Divisional round loss to the Rams for the most postseason receiving yards ever by a rookie tight end.

He may have been passed over for the AP NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year award, but Loveland earned a different accolade on Tuesday: a spot in the PFF 101, an annual list of Pro Football Focus' top 101 players from the previous season. So far, PFF has only unveiled numbers 101-61, building towards the Top 20 being released on Friday. Loveland checks in at No. 61, one spot ahead of Darnell Wright, the only other Bears to make the list so far.

Here's what PFF had to say about Loveland's rookie season: "The first tight end off the board in the 2025 NFL draft, Loveland was immediately one of the NFL's best at the position, earning an 86.2 PFF receiving grade — bettered by only the 49ers' George Kittle. His 1.97 yards per route run average trailed only Kittle and the Bills' Dalton Kincaid."

As part of PFF's Top 101 list, they mention in their criteria that past performance and future projections are completely ignored. This list is only about 2025 and how each player performed. With that in mind, it makes sense why Loveland is "only" ranked at No. 61. If future projections were accounted for, one could argue he's deserving of a Top 20 spot. When you watch what Loveland did as a rookie in a tough offense, he appears set to take the torch from Travis Kelce as the next great NFL tight end.

The Bottom Line

As aforementioned, selecting Loveland in the 2025 NFL draft is arguably Ryan Poles' best draft selection. Guys like Darnell Wright, Rome Odunze, and Kyler Gordon were all really good picks, and Caleb Williams, of course, is on the cusp of superstardom. But drafting Loveland at No. 10 ahead of Tyler Warren, who was universally expected to be the top tight end off the board, took guts. Poles trusted his evaluation and the work of his scouting team, and it's already paid off in spades.

Loveland earned his spot in PFF's Top 101, and I have a feeling that he will be a yearly fixture of this list for the next decade.

Colston Lovelan
Mike Dinovo-Imagn Images

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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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