2025 NFL Draft: What Michigan's Loveland Could Bring to Chiefs

With Travis Kelce at the end of his career, should the Kansas City Chiefs consider Colston Loveland at No. 31 overall?

Nov 9, 2024; Bloomington, Indiana, USA; Michigan Wolverines tight end Colston Loveland (18) runs with the ball in the second half against the Indiana Hoosiers at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images / Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images

The Kansas City Chiefs head into the 2025 NFL Draft looking to add for the future, specifically without their star tight end, Travis Kelce. The franchise pass-catcher is arguably the greatest at his position, and after over a decade in the league, there are signs of decline.

Kansas City must consider drafting his future successor in this year's draft. While Kelce should still have a fairly significant role in the offense in 2025, grooming the player that will look to take his spot is key and the draft offers a nice crop of potential future starters at tight end.

Michigan Wolverines tight end Colston Loveland is one of the best tight ends in the NFL Draft and is a potential first-round option for the Chiefs. A former four-star recruit, Loveland has been arguably the best tight end in college football for the last two seasons. He was a second-team All-American and second-team All-Big Ten last season and first-team All-Big Ten in 2023, along with a national championship.

Let's take a closer look at what the junior tight end could bring to the table at the next level.

Strengths

If Loveland was a true wide receiver, he might be a Top 50 selection regardless. This is a tight end that attacks the football in the air with ruthless aggression, illustrates a wide and lengthy catch radius along with the body control to adjust to passes on the fly. His 6-foot-6, 248-pound frame makes him a handful to contest with at the catch point and will post up against defenders like a power forward.

Loveland can line up anywhere along the formation, whether it's at X, slot, in-line, or h-back. His athleticism, route running ability, and football IQ make him a viable draft choice in the first round. Loveland has shown to be effective in whatever he is asked to do, including in the run game, with enough play strength to create movement in the C-gap.

Loveland is a terrific route runner who is not only physical at the top of routes but offers the short-area quickness and fluidity to run the full route tree at the short and intermediate levels of the field. The former All-Big Ten playmaker has a great understanding of zone spacing and leverage to attack green grass and show off some creativity after the catch.

Weaknesses

Loveland's flaws come in the run game as a blocker. If this was a high-level, powerful mover in the trenches with his pass-catching ability, he would be an easy Top-10 selection in this year's draft or any for that matter.

In pass protection, he shows willingness and flashes of technique but can get sloppy with his strikes, and his grip strength is not elite, allowing pass rushers to get by quickly. As a run blocker, his power at the point of attack is modest, at best. Here, he does not get enough movement to generate rushing lanes that are clear enough for his ball carrier and sometimes allows defenders to flush into the backfield.

Overall, Loveland will need to improve his ability at the point of attack in both facets in the trenches while adding more power and play strength within his frame.

What Loveland Brings to the Table

Loveland projects as a starting NFL tight end with a developing skill set as a blocker. While he is sufficient in this area, he has much to improve on. Either way, the former Michigan standout would provide a team with a quality playmaker in the passing game who can reduce inside as an in-line player or out wide as a big target at the X or Z roles where his pass-catching skill set can be taken advantage of.

For Kansas City, Loveland would compete with Noah Gray for reps at No. 2 tight end but would eventually find himself as the starter if Kelce were to retire. As a Top 20 prospect in this year's draft, Loveland would be a high-end selection for the Chiefs, giving them their successor for the future.

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