Colston
Loveland.
Colston
Loveland.
Michigan· 6'6"· 248 lb
"A tight end built to be schemed open anywhere on the field, whose route feel and long-strider separation make him a coverage problem rather than merely a big body who catches what is thrown near him."Pre-draft read
He is primarily a flex and slot tight end who also lines up in-line and in the wing. His primary trait is route nuance for the position: he stems defenders, sinks his hips at the top of option and out-breaking routes, and finds the soft spot against zone without drifting into traffic. He plays taller than his weight without losing balance in the break.
His secondary trait is stride length in the seam, where he eats cushion against linebackers and forces safeties to declare early. His hands are natural and quiet away from the frame, and his eyes stay on the ball through contact rather than shortening to brace for the hit. As a blocker he is willing and technically sound at the point but is a positioning blocker rather than a displacer, best when asked to wall off or climb.
The Chicago Bears run a modern, diverse Shanahan outside zone scheme with principles drawn from the West Coast offense, emphasizing play-action and timing routes.
He can be an immediate flex tight end on early downs, separating against linebackers, and his ceiling is a Pro Bowl-caliber matchup weapon who dictates coverage.
He would not reach his potential in a run-heavy straight-line power scheme that asks its tight ends to consistently execute drive blocks from an in-line alignment.
Loveland's ability to create separation and catch in traffic makes him a perfect fit for a scheme that prioritizes route running and play-action pass options where he can find open space.
Colston Loveland 2023 Season Highlights | Michigan TE
National title season tape showing seam work, hands away from the frame and in-line blocking reps.
Michigan TE Colston Loveland EVERY 2024 Target & Touch
Complete 2024 target reel, including the seven-catch, 112-yard game against Oregon.
Colston Loveland Michigan Highlights | Drafted No. 10 overall to the Bears
Draft-night career cutup released after Chicago took him tenth overall.
He projects as a move tight end and matchup weapon, capable of being deployed as a flex-aligned seam separator with legitimate in-line willingness. His value as a top-10 pick was driven by his receiving profile, offering a coordinator a versatile piece who can align in multiple spots and separate cleanly.
He spent three years in a run-first offense, which often asked him to block first. Despite this, he accumulated 117 catches for 1,466 yards and 11 touchdowns in his collegiate career, setting the program's single-season tight end reception record with 56 in 2024. He played in an attack that scored on barely 40 percent of its snaps, catching passes from a rotating cast of quarterbacks.
Evaluators had concerns regarding a shoulder injury that cost him the Ohio State finale and his decision not to complete pre-draft athletic testing. This led to a split consensus on him and another top tight end, though his performance in specific games, such as his seven-catch, 112-yard outing against Oregon, solidified him as a top prospect, ultimately leading to him being drafted with the 10th overall pick.
- 01
Route craft
Runs option, out and dig concepts with genuine stem detail rather than the drift most college tight ends show, which lets him uncover against linebackers without any scheme help.
- 02
Seam speed
Long, efficient strides eat linebacker cushion inside the numbers, forcing safeties to rotate early and creating the intermediate throwing windows behind them for his quarterback.
- 03
Catch technique
Plucks away from his frame with quiet hands and tracks the ball through contact, converting contested and off-target throws that most players at the position bat down or bobble.
- 04
Alignment versatility
Real snaps in-line, in the wing, in the slot and detached wide, so a coordinator can move him without tipping personnel or losing anything from the formation.
- 05
Production in context
Set Michigan's single-season tight end reception record with 56 catches in 2024 while playing in an offense that generated modest efficiency on its passing downs.
- 01
Drive blocking
Positions and walls off effectively but does not move defensive ends off the spot; asking him to be a true in-line Y on early downs shrinks what he does best.
- 02
Play strength
Can be re-routed by physical press from strong safeties and stack linebackers, and his release package is more finesse than power against contact at the line.
- 03
Testing gaps
Did not complete athletic testing before the draft, leaving evaluators without confirmed speed or explosion numbers on a profile that leans on stride-based separation.
- 04
Injury flag
A shoulder problem carried through the 2024 season and cost him the Ohio State finale, an availability question at a position with heavy collision volume every week.
| Yr | Team | G | Rec | Yds | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Michigan | 14 | 16 | 235 | 2 |
| 2023 | Michigan | 15 | 45 | 649 | 4 |
| 2024 | Michigan | 10 | 56 | 582 | 5 |
| Career | — | 39 | 117 | 1466 | 11 |
A dash means the figure is not published by a source we trust — never a zero we invented.
- Davis WarrenQB14%
- Kalel MullingsRB12%
- Tyler MorrisWR7%
#1 of 18 tracked contributors · Produced well above his snap share · Offense explosiveness 1.11 (p1) · CFBD — usage x PPA per tracked player
Honors
- CFP national champion (2023)
- Second-team All-American, FWAA (2024)
- John Mackey Award finalist (2024)
- First-team All-Big Ten, coaches (2023)
- Second-team All-Big Ten (2024)
- Michigan single-season record for receptions by a tight end (56, 2024)
A high-volume flex tight end who separates with route feel and is competent rather than dominant as a blocker.
The outcome if the play strength arrives: a full-time chess piece who is both the passing game hub and a usable in-line blocker.
A reliable, unspectacular starter whose ceiling stays capped by average play strength and a modest target share.
Everything above is the pre-draft evaluation. This section is what actually happened — updated year over year.
One NFL season complete. Named to the ESPN All-Rookie Team after a 58-713-6 regular season, an NFC Offensive Player of the Week award and a record postseason for a rookie tight end.
The tricky part of evaluating Colston Loveland was subtracting the offense around him. Michigan won a national championship in 2023 by running the ball and playing defense, and it spent 2024 cycling through quarterbacks while its efficiency cratered. Loveland caught 117 passes across three seasons in that environment, most of them earned rather than schemed, and the 56 he pulled in as a junior broke a program record for the position that had stood since 2002. Evaluators who trusted the tape saw a tight end running a professional route tree in an offense that rarely rewarded him for it; evaluators who trusted volume saw a player whose raw numbers never approached what Penn State's Tyler Warren produced the same fall. The Oregon game in November 2024, seven catches for 112 yards against a top-ten defense, was the resolution most rooms needed.
What made him a top-ten pick was the separation. Loveland is not a jump-ball tight end and never pretended to be one. He wins by stemming linebackers, sinking his hips at the break and eating cushion in the seam with strides that force safeties to declare a half-count early, and he catches the ball away from his frame with his eyes still on it through contact. The concerns were honest ones: he blocks willingly but positions rather than displaces, physical safeties can re-route him at the line, he carried a shoulder problem that cost him the Ohio State finale, and he declined athletic testing before the draft, which left teams projecting speed rather than confirming it.
Chicago took him tenth and used him immediately as a flex weapon rather than a traditional Y. The rookie year answered most of it: 58 catches for 713 yards and six touchdowns in 16 games, an NFC Offensive Player of the Week award for a six-catch, 118-yard, two-touchdown afternoon against Cincinnati that ended with a 58-yard game-winner, and then 12 catches for 193 yards across two playoff games, the most receiving yards by a rookie tight end in a postseason. Pro Football Focus graded him the best rookie in the league. The blocking question has not gone away. Everything else has.