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Chicago Bears TE Colston Loveland's NFL debut falls short of fellow first-round picks

Chicago Bears first-round pick Colston Loveland made his NFL debut in Week 1 of the preseason. How did he stack up against the other 2025 first-rounders?
Bryan Perez|
Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images

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Chicago Bears

Chicago Bears first-round pick Colston Loveland made his NFL debut in Week 1's preseason game against the Miami Dolphins, and while he only played six snaps, it was great to see the eventual Ben Johnson mismatch moving around in a Bears uniform.

Loveland ended his first pro exposure with a 59.7 grade from Pro Football Focus, which, if that's the mark he finishes his rookie season with, it'll undoubtedly be a disappointment. But PFF's grade is fair; I issued Loveland a similar grade in an All-22 deep dive of the Bears-Dolphins game.

More interesting than Loveland's individual grade, however, is how it stacked up against the rest of the 2025 first-round rookies who made their debuts last weekend.

Put bluntly, Loveland wasn't at the head of the class. In fact, his grade ranks ninth among 21 rookie tight ends scored by PFF so far.

Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson talks with tight end (84) Colston Loveland
David Banks-Imagn Images

By comparison, Indianapolis Colts rookie first-round tight end Tyler Warren scored a 78.4 over 20 snaps.

Sure, there's a chance Loveland would've increased his grade significantly with a big catch or key block, but there's no doubt Warren looked the part. He caught three passes for 40 yards and earned the highest receiving grade on the Colts, accoridng to PFF.

The good news? Loveland's 59.7 was higher than first-overall pick Cam Ward (54.2) and Jacksonville Jaguars phenom Travis Hunter (58.4). He was better than Ashton Jeanty, too. The Raiders star running back scored a 52.0.

Colston Loveland's snap count will go way up against the Buffalo Bills on Sunday night, which will give him more opportunities to make a splash.

Hopefully, it'll be at the other end of a Caleb Williams pass.

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Bryan Perez
BRYAN PEREZ

Bryan Perez founded and operated Bears Talk, a Chicago sports blog. Prior to that, he covered the Bears for USA Today’s Bears Wire and NBC Sports Chicago. In addition to his Chicago Bears coverage, Perez is a respected member of NFL Draft media and was a past winner of The Huddle's Mock Draft competition. Bryan's past life includes time as a Northeast scout for the CFL's Ottawa Redblacks.

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