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Bears' offensive skill-position rookies earn high grades in preseason debut

Chicago Bears' rookies Colston Loveland, Luther Burden III and Kyle Monangai each showed promising glimpses in the preseason opener.
Richie Whitt|
May 10, 2025; Lake Forest, IL, USA; Chicago Bears tight end (84) Colston Loveland participates in rookie minicamp at Halas Hall. Mandatory Credit: David Banks-Imagn Images
May 10, 2025; Lake Forest, IL, USA; Chicago Bears tight end (84) Colston Loveland participates in rookie minicamp at Halas Hall. Mandatory Credit: David Banks-Imagn Images | David Banks-Imagn Images

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Chicago Bears

The Chicago Bears drafted three offensive skill-position rookies last April, and new head coach Ben Johnson put them all to work in Sunday's preseason opener. Though the Bears wound up tying the Miami Dolphins 24-24 at Soldier Field, each of the three players showed brief flashes of potential that has to have Bears fans excited.

Our grades of the Bears' three offensive skill-position rookies:

MORE: Former fifth-round pick earned Bears' highest PFF grade vs Dolphins

Colston Loveland, B+: The first-round tight end from Michigan played only six snaps, but was targeted with two passes. He caught one check-down pass on third-and-16, and rumbled for an eight-yard gain. The Bears controversially passed on Tyler Warren to select Loveland, but it's apparent Johnson wants to pair him with veteran Cole Kmet to mimic in Chicago what he did with Sam LaPorta with th Detroit Lions.

Luther Burden III, A: Taken in the second round out of Missouri, he caught two passes for 29 yards on three targets during his 25 snaps. Most impressively, he snagged a pass from quarterback Tyson Bagent near the end of the second quarter and had the wherewithall to - after picking up a key 12 yards - scoot out of bounds to set up Carlos Santos' 57-yard field goal on the final play before halftime.

MORE: Bears' Kyle Monangai has work to do to earn Ben Johnson's trust

Kyle Monangai A-: The 7th-round banger from Rutgers played 25 snaps and continued displaying what he's shown during training camp: the ability to be a short-yardage battering ram. Monnagai ran up the middle and gained yardage after first contact, finishing with 30 yards on six carries.

It was only a sliver of evidence in an otherwise meaningless exhibition, but for Chicago's offensive rookies it was so far, so good.

Luther Burden III
May 10, 2025; Lake Forest, IL, USA; Chicago Bears wide receiver (87) Luther Burden III participates in rookie minicamp at Halas Hall. Mandatory Credit: David Banks-Imagn Images | David Banks-Imagn Images

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Richie Whitt
RICHIE WHITT

Richie Whitt has been a sports media fixture in Dallas-Fort Worth since graduating from UT-Arlington in 1986. His career is highlighted by successful stints in print (Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Dallas Observer), TV (NBC5) and radio (105.3 The Fan). During his almost 40-year tenure, he's blabbed and blogged on events ranging from Super Bowls to NBA Finals to World Series to Stanley Cups to Olympics to Wimbledons to World Cups. Whitt has been covering the NFL since 1989, and in 1993 authored The 'Boys Are Back, a book chronicling the Dallas Cowboys' run to Super Bowl XXVII.

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