Ranking the NFC North Tight Ends: Colston Loveland Stands Atop a Loaded Division

After a breakout rookie season, Colston Loveland is set to take the NFL by storm as an elite tight end.

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In the 2026 NFL draft, we saw an unexpected run on tight ends in the second and third rounds, with eight selected between picks No. 54 and No. 95. Perhaps this shouldn't have been surprising, however. The more innovative NFL offenses have spent the last couple of years loading up on tight ends to counter defenses that had grown lighter, smaller, and faster, and now the rest of the league is following suit.

The Chicago Bears under Ben Johnson were one of those offenses. They shocked the NFL world when they selected Colston Loveland at No. 10 in the 2025 NFL draft, and he went on to have a historic rookie season. Then, the Bears' selection of Stanford tight end Sam Roush last month only confirmed that they will continue to be at the forefront of tight end usage.

With that in mind, now is a good time to rank the tight end rooms of the NFC North. On Monday, Caleb Williams took the top spot in the NFC North quarterback rankings, but Tuesday's ranking proved that the Bears' receivers still lag behind their rivals. Where will Chicago's tight ends fall? Let's dive into what ended up being an exceptionally difficult position group to rank.

4. Minnesota Vikings

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Before any Vikings fans get upset at taking the bottom spot in these rankings, I want to clarify that Minnesota's tight ends are still very good. When healthy and not saddled with atrocious quarterback play, T.J. Hockenson remains a premier threat on the field. In 2023, his most recent full season with acceptable quarterbacking, he hauled in 95 catches for 960 yards and five touchdowns.

What holds Minnesota back in this department is its lack of depth. Josh Oliver is a fine TE2, but neither of the other two tight ends on their current depth chart has amounted to anything in the NFL. In another division, this room might be good enough for No. 1, but the NFC North is packed from stem to stern with good tight ends.

3. Detroit Lions

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I really struggled with choosing No. 3, as it was almost a dead tie with the team I have coming next. Detroit's Sam LaPorta set the NFL world on fire with an elite rookie season, but has since cooled off a bit while remaining an elite threat. I don't love the depth behind him, however, and that's why Detroit falls to third place. Brock Wright saw just 22 targets in 2025, which was his most since 2022, the year before the Lions drafted LaPorta. That's not great for your second tight end option.

2. Green Bay Packers

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For these rankings, I'm assuming that Green Bay's Tucker Kraft will be 100% healthy to start the 2026 NFL season, which is the only fair way to do it, in my opinion. Kraft was in the middle of a breakout season last year, on pace for 1,039 yards and 13 touchdowns, when a Week 8 torn ACL forced him to miss the remainder of the season. So if he is indeed healthy, he should be a strong All-Pro candidate in 2026 and lead Green Bay's potent passing attack.

Unlike Detroit and Minnesota, Green Bay also has tight end depth that I like. Luke Musgrave, selected in the same year as Kraft, hasn't quite lived up to his pre-draft hype, but he remains a strong weapon for quarterback Jordan Love and one of the league's better TE2 options. However, the last NFC North team, and the one that takes the top spot of these rankings, has a 1-2 tight end combo that can't be beat by anyone in the division, perhaps even the entire league.

1. Chicago Bears

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During the 2025 NFL draft, I wrote that Colston Loveland was the wrong pick for the Chicago Bears, and that became potentially my worst draft take of all time. His rookie season started slowly as Loveland battled injuries and remained behind six-year veteran Cole Kmet on the depth chart. By the second-half of the season, however, it became clear that Loveland was a superstar in the making. In his last six games, including the playoffs, Loveland averaged 78.5 yards per game, which put him on pace for 1,334 yards in a full season.

Loveland's dominance continued in the playoffs, setting an NFL playoff record for rookie tight ends and proving that he could be the one who takes the postseason torch from Travis Kelce. But Loveland isn't the only dynamic tight end for Chicago. Kmet may have seen his role supplanted by Loveland, but he's proven capable of putting up TE1 numbers, as he did in 2023 when he racked up 719 yards and six touchdowns. He will likely not hit 700 yards again, but Kmet remains a dangerous option in the red zone.

Then there's the rookie Sam Roush. He may be TE3 on the depth chart, but he has top-tier TE2 upside and could prove that early as a rookie. Additionally, just like Loveland and Kmet, he is a force when it comes to blocking, able to hold his own even when left on an island against a defensive end.

From top to bottom, Chicago's tight end room is stacked with both proven talent and sky-high potential. This is especially true for Loveland, who could genuinely become the best tight end in the league in another year or two. For that reason, the Bears' tight ends stand atop the division.

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