ColstonLoveland

News: 2 hours agoLoveland did not play in the Bears' 34-10 preseason win over the Browns on Saturday.

Spin: Loveland and other key skill players -- including Luther Burden (groin), Rome Odunze and Cole Kmet -- sat out of Saturday's practice, allowing more snaps at tight end to go to Sam Roush and Stephen Carlson. Loveland, a first-round selection of the Bears in the 2025 NFL Draft, saw his playing time and production increase over the course of his rookie season, highlighted by his performance in Chicago's NFC wild-card win over Green Bay, when he caught eight passes (on 15 targets) for 137 yards. With DJ Moore (lower body) now in Buffalo, Loveland is poised to be an even bigger contributor to the Bears' offense in 2026, with Odunze, Burden and Kmet being his main competition for passes from quarterback Caleb Williams.

ESPN Fantasy Projection: After averaging 4.1 targets and 8.5 fantasy PPG during his first 14 NFL games, Loveland leaped to 12.0 targets (10-plus in each) and 20.0 fantasy PPG during his final four games of 2025 (including the playoffs). For perspective, there have been only 12 instances of a tight end seeing at least 10 targets in four consecutive regular-season games in NFL history (and only one was a rookie). Loveland's overall efficiency was terrific, as he ranked eighth or better among tight ends in YPR, YPT and YPRR. With DJ Moore gone, the 2025 first-round pick enters his age-22 season all but locked into a massive workload alongside Rome Odunze and Luther Burden III. Loveland's ceiling is lofty, and midrange fantasy TE1 should be his floor.