Bear Digest

Where Bears fan criticism over Colston Loveland pick could be valid

The comparisons and criticism for the Bears regarding Colston Loveland and Tyler Warren will rage on but a main reason they made the pick may or may not have merit.
Gene Chamberlain|
Colston Loveland gets a catch and fights for yards in preseason against the Bills.
Colston Loveland gets a catch and fights for yards in preseason against the Bills. | David Banks-Imagn Images

In this story:

Chicago Bears

There's a scene from the old HBO comedy Arliss so applicable to the Bears right now that it's laughable.

Considering how poorly critics regarded that series, it might be the only funny scene. It had a few moments, though, and this was one especially for Bears fans.

Arliss, the super agent, was on the phone talking to an NFL GM about signing a client who was a free agent, and he suddenly became irritated when the GM said the client didn't fit their offensive system.

"Doesn't fit your system?" hollered Robert Wuhl, who played the super agent Arliss Michaels. "What's your system? Losing?!!!"

Of course, the GM hung up on him. Arliss got up after slamming down the phone, walked to a chalk board with all the NFL teams' written on it, and crossed off the name "Chicago."

Return to the real NFL world and many Bears fans continue to lament the fact tight end Colston Loveland was drafted 10th overall, and they had the chance to select Penn State tight end Tyler Warren. It was Loveland who was the "system pick."

Whether they should actually have been drafting any tight end 10th overall  was and would still be open to debate because only four have been drafted in the top 10 since they last went to the Super Bowl. It's usually considered too early to take tight ends because the best ones usually come from Day 2 or later.

However, Warren is giving all the Colts fans a  reason to crow and taunt the Bears with 23 catches for 307 yards and one touchdown catch—as if Matt Eberflus wasn't enough of a reason for Colts fans to laugh at Chicago's fortunes.  He has 20 more catches for 264 more yards than Loveland has after a four-catch, 44-yard game Sunday.

When Ryan Poles drafted Loveland 10th over Warren, he  explained it almost like a coin flip but that Loveland fit the system better.

"What's your system, losing!???" Arliss would say.

Poles almost seemed to be treading water or not say much on draft day when asked why not Warren and why Loveland, but it seemed fairly obvious from what he said that Loveland fit better into the offensive role for the  "move" tight end in the Ben Johnson Bears offense than Warren would have.

Warren is the same size as Cole Kmet, the "Y" or in-line tight end.

Warren is 6-6, 256 and Kmet 6-6, 257. Loveland is that height but 241 pounds.

The average depth target for what Warren is doing in the Colts offense in chasing down passes is only 6.1 yards going into this week's game.

However, on his six targets so far for the Bears before going out with a hip injury, Loveland's average depth of target was 14.7 yards according to Stathead / Pro Football Reference. The Bears use him downfield more.

It doesn't mean Warren couldn't catch passes downfield. It's just his average target is closer to the line of scrimmage. Even Kmet's depth of target as a Bears "in-line" tight end or "Y," has been a lot deeper than Warren's. A receiver closer to the line should be able to make more catches, too.

Regardless, Warren has been very impactful and so far shows he might have actually been worth taking at No. 10 even if even good tight ends generally are not.

What is unfair to Loveland is entering his name into the discussion because he hasn't been able to contribute much due to his recent hip injury and before that his recovery from shoulder surgery that virtually eliminated all offseason work.

While it might not be fair to Loveland, it is fair to criticize both Poles and Johnson. They knew Loveland's injury status and that's what set him back so far.

Again, this probably was more of a Johnson pick.

"Both are really good players," Poles said after the pick. "There are a lot of conversations there, back and forth. Tyler is going to be a great football player, as well. In terms of fits, what we want to do a little bit better with the personnel group that we have here on our roster, we thought that the combination of what we have is the better fit."

He went a little deeper on that.

"It's versatile," Poles said. "We can do whatever we need to do. We can run the ball and play a physical brand of football. If you match that with a more physical, bigger personnel group? Well, you have a mismatch on your hands, as well.

"It's multiple and it allows Ben to do what he does best, which, one, is to have a physical brand of football, but also be creative and do some things that are going to put teams in a pickle."

It's not really Poles' fault in this respect, but the slow Loveland start is on both of  them because they both knew the injuries involved.

Either way, the whining and complaining should stop until Loveland at least has a chance to be healthy and show what he can do.

At some point, Warren could have an injury, too. Then, would he have Loveland's production held against him?

Another point, Warren never even had a receiving touchdown until Sunday. He did have a rushing TD, though.

Perhaps there's plenty of time to make up the deficit for the Bears rookie.

More Chicago Bears News

Published
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.