Bear Digest

Why Bears can anticipate immediate impact from rookie pass targets

Colston Loveland and Luther Burden III play positions where second years are often much better than rookie years but they could have an edge in Chicago's offense.
Gene Chamberlain|
Bears first-round draft pick Colston Loveland makes a catch against Alabama linebacker Deontae Lawson.
Bears first-round draft pick Colston Loveland makes a catch against Alabama linebacker Deontae Lawson. | Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK

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Chicago Bears

The selection of tight end Colston Loveland and wide receiver Luther Burden III with the first two Bears draft picks fuels optimism about the offense's immediate future.

However, many players who come into the league at those positions do not immediately flourish. Especially at tight end, there is the tendency for players to  struggle initially and then break out in the second or third year.

Every tight end is not Brock Bowers. There were a dozen taken in last year's draft and Bowers was not only the only one with over 100 catches but the only one with more than 33 receptions and 342 receiving yards as a rookie. Another case in point, Tucker Kraft with the Packers went from 31 catches as a rookie to 50 in his second year. Bears tight end Cole Kmet had a similar second-year jump.

Much public disappointment has been voiced in wide receiver Rome Odunze's 54 catches last season but there were 34 other receivers drafted in 2024 and 29 failed to reach his total of catches. There were seven taken in Round 1 of that draft and four made more catches than Odunze, while three had more yards than his total of 734.

Circumstances, like injuries, sometimes dictate less immediate production—Odunze was the only first-round rookie wide receiver playing in 2024 with a rookie starting quarterback and he had DJ Moore and potential Hall of Fame slot receiver Keenan Allen vying for targets, not to mention Kmet.

What the Bears want is to see both Loveland and Burden as immediate impact players. Their chances have to be considered higher for this happening for one reason: Ben Johnson.

Johnson had a great influence on the Bears' selection process this year as he and his staff worked very closely with GM Ryan Poles and personnel.

The reason Johnson's impact can be greater is he already oversaw the selection of a rookie move-tight end in Sam LaPorta. He was with the Lions when slot wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown broke in with 90 catches and then was coordinator when St. Brown had 106 catches or more every one of the last three seasons.

Johnson already noted similarities between Loveland and LaPorta.  

"I do see a lot of comparisons to LaPorta, that's not just on the field, that was off the field as well because with LaPorta, the stage was never too big or too bright," Johnson said. "I felt that same thing with Colston the first time I met him.

"He doesn't bat an eye. He performs at a high level."

The comment about Burden might as well have been about St. Brown, who was a fourth-round pick and also went later than many would have thought, but was a Pro Bowl player three straight years with Johnson as coordinator.

"He's a playmaker waiting to happen," Johnson said of Burden.

Johnson didn't see the exact skill set with Burden that St. Brown has. He brought up Jameson Williams, who had injury problems initially before flashing after his rookie year. Burden doesn't have Williams' 4.25-second speed in the 40 but is faster (4.41) than St. Brown (4.51) and has route running ability closer to St. Brown's great techniques than Williams is.

"It's rare to see somebody with his movement skills," Johnson said of Burden. "He can stop on a dime and accelerate just like that. Give him a little bit of space and he can make big things happen.

"So a dangerous player weapon, call him what you want, but I see big things in his future.”

The tight end position is often called a difficult position to learn because of the demands within a given offense and it's for this reason many players initially struggle there. Johnson even brought this up when talking about Loveland.

"That's the toughest position to learn, particularly early on rookie year," Johnson said. "But he demonstrated the capacity that it shouldn't be a problem.”

Johnson said an accelerated course is planned for Loveland to ensure he'll get the U- or move-tight end position in the NFL.

"(Tight ends coach) Jim Dray is going to be on him 24-7 in terms of him being able to retain everything that we're going to throw at him," Johnson said.

It could come at the cost of some touches for other receivers, but it would appear the Bears anticipate their first two draft picks jumping in rather than wading in because of their skill level and a coaching staff already well versed at directing rookies to immediate success.

And It definitely won’t hurt that Caleb Williams has a full year in the league now to draw upon when he’s looking for his new targets.

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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.