The Chicago Bears surprised many when they took tight end Colston Loveland with the No. 10 pick in the 2025 NFL draft — including Loveland himself.
During June 12’s interview with “The Rich Eisen Show,” Loveland admitted that while he felt landing in Chicago “was in play” heading into the first night of April’s draft, he still found it “a little surprising” when the Bears picked him with the 10th pick.
“There were thoughts [that the Bears could draft me],” Loveland told Eisen. “When they came to my pro day, they came pretty deep — GM, a bunch of coaches. So I figured they were there to watch someone or talk to someone. I had a meeting there, felt like I did really good, so I always thought it was in play. But with the injury [and] maybe not a great season before, you never know through the process.
“It was a little surprise on draft day for sure.”
Loveland caught 117 passes for 1,466 yards and 11 touchdowns over his three seasons at Michigan, but his production did decline in some ways in 2024. He finished with fewer than 14 yards per reception on the season for the first time in his career despite making a career-high 56 receptions. He also played through a shoulder injury that forced him to undergo surgery in January.
Nevertheless, the Bears felt strongly enough about Loveland’s upside that they took a chance on him, believing he could become a major playmaker for their offense.
“With Colston, it starts more with the person than the player,” Head coach Ben Johnson said. “I love the tape, but when you get to know him as a man, it’s really intriguing. It’s who we want to be going forward. He stands for high football character and IQ.”
Colston Loveland Remains Focused on Injury Recovery
The Bears have high expectations for their first-round rookie heading into the 2025 season, but they are still waiting for Loveland to return to the field for them properly.
Loveland did not participate in OTAs or mandatory minicamp for the Bears this spring. While he was present in meetings and available for walk-throughs, doctors have not yet cleared him to return to practice following January’s operation on his right shoulder.
The Bears are also understandably taking things slow with Loveland, though. The team knew when drafting him that his recovery would most likely keep him off the field until the start of training camp in late July. The big thing, as Loveland mentioned to Eisen, is logging the mental reps and trying to learn everything he can about the playbook.
“The main thing is just getting the shoulder right, getting back out there with the guys,” Loveland said. “But just been going through the playbook as a whole, and they’re just saying, ‘Make sure you’re taking the mental reps, make sure you’re diving into the playbook, learn everything conceptually because you can be anywhere, you can do anything. Anybody in this offense can be asked to do anything.”
Colston Loveland Still Working to Build QB Chemistry
Johnson has not shied away from discussing the crucial on-field time that Loveland and the Bears’ other injury absentees have missed throughout the spring. When asked about rookie wide receiver Luther Burden III’s injury, he bemoaned the loss of “valuable” reps and “the ability to build chemistry” that impacts any players unavailable for practice.
Loveland, however, is not letting his recovery stop him from building his relationship with Bears starting quarterback Caleb Williams. Even without being able to practice on the field with them, he told Eisen that he worked with Williams and others to “get some plays on air” during OTAs, looking to make sure they are “in sync” for training camp.
“I think it just starts in everyday conversations, whether that’s inside the building or outside the building,” Loveland said of building chemistry with Williams. “And then, we have walkthroughs, which are good to participate in, even in the early portions, even after practice, we go out and get some plays on air. You know, break the huddle and just go [do] essentially another walkthrough, so just doing that, communicating with him and all the other teammates, everyone else on the offense, just to be in sync, be on the same page because we all need to be on the same page to get where we want to go.”
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