Colston

Loveland

Loveland’s role in the Chicago passing attack grew steadily in the back half of his rookie season and peaked in the postseason, with Loveland shredding the Packers in the Wild Card Round for eight catches and 137 yards. “He’s going to be a weapon for a long time,” head coach Ben Johnson said. Loveland’s route tree expanded in the final couple months of the season, Wiederer said, as Bears coaches and Caleb Williams trusted him as the clear No. 1 pass catcher in the run-first Chicago offense. Loveland should be considered a candidate to lead all tight ends in fantasy scoring next season.

Loveland was injured late in the fourth quarter in Sunday’s loss to the Rams and was not available for any of the team’s offensive snaps in overtime. Loveland, who caught 58 passes for 713 yards and six touchdowns as a rookie, should make a full recovery in the coming days and will be primed for a breakout 2026 campaign after an impressive rookie year.

It took a while for things to start paying off for the Bears, who selected Loveland with the No. 10 overall pick in this year’s draft. Despite a slow start out of the gate that resulted in just 116 scoreless receiving yards through the first eight weeks of the season, Loveland broke out in the second half for 47-597-6 over the final 10 games of the regular season, and went off for 8-137-0 on 15 targets in the Bears’ Wild Card win over the Packers. Loveland was the first tight end taken off the board in this year’s draft and appears to be on the fast track to being one of the best the league has to offer. His strong finish to the season will set the expectations for 2026 extremely high in both the real world and for fantasy managers. He’ll be on a short list for elite tight ends to consider drafting next season and could come at a premium as hype around his sophomore season grows.

Loveland doubled every other Bears’ receiver in targets, and while it wasn’t the most efficient night for the first-round pick, there were some sensational momments. He had a long gain of 27, and he was consistently finding room on the sideline against a Packers’ defense that likely has regrets for how they handled the second half. Loveland will likely be involved again in the Divisional Round versus the Eagles or Rams, but it’s likely he won’t see 15 targets again unless Chicago falls down big.

The talented rookie tight end handily led the team in targets as no other pass-catcher saw more than four looks in the walk-off loss, finding paint with just over five minutes left to play to knot the game at 16. Loveland has proven to be a draft day steal for fantasy managers that took the gamble in the middle rounds of drafts this offseason. He’ll look to keep the momentum going when the Bears host the Packers in the Wild Card round next weekend.

The talented rookie right end led the team with 10 targets and caught one of the two touchdowns thrown by quarterback Caleb Williams, almost contributing to another with under 30 seconds to play when he pitched the ball to running back D’Andre Swift on a hook-and-ladder trick play inside the red zone. Swift was stood up at the three and the Bears were sent to their fifth loss on the next play when Williams’ pass to the end zone fell incomplete as time expired. Loveland’s fantasy value has skyrocketed towards the end of the season as one of the primary points of emphasis for an up-and-coming offense under Ben Johnson. He’ll be on the TE1 line for Week 18.

Even with Rome Odunze and Luther Burden both out, Loveland was unable to stand out in a passing game that was largely devoid of talent. Loveland saw just four targets on the day and turned them into 30 forgettable yards. Fantasy managers shouldn’t view him as anything more than a TE2 in Week 17 against the 49ers.

Burden injured his ankle in Week 15 and was completely unable to practice this week. He and WR Rome Odunze (foot) have both been ruled out, while RB D’Andre Swift (groin) and TE Cole Kmet (ankle/knee) are listed as questionable to play. Bears TE Colston Loveland and WRs DJ Moore and Olamide Zaccheaus stand to benefit.

Odunze was listed with heel and ankle injuries in October and November. On December 5th, he was reportedly considered week-to-week with a stress fracture in his foot. The Bears held him out of their Week 14 game on December 7th, but allowed him to resume practicing in Week 15. He then aggravated the stress fracture during pre-game warmups. It’s an extremely unfortunate series of events. The Bears will also be without WR Luther Burden (ankle) against the Packers on Saturday, reducing target competition for TE Colston Loveland and WRs DJ Moore and Olamide Zaccheaus. Bears RB D’Andre Swift (groin) and TE Cole Kmet (ankle/knee) are questionable to play.

Loveland continues to split time with Cole Kmet, which couldn’t be more frustrating for fantasy managers given the difference in production lately. Coming off a game with four catches, 29 yards and a touchdown against the Packers, Loveland had another four catches for 63 yards. Kmet caught just 2-of-4 targets. Loveland is stuck in TE2 purgatory until Kmet is fully phased out.