Player
Colston Loveland
TE · Bears
The Week 9 breakout wasn't a fluke — it unlocked a structural role change. The Bears shifted from treating Loveland as a complementary piece to targeting him as the primary release valve, a shift that compounded each week through the playoffs.
Quiet first 6 games (1.8 catches per game), then a Week 9 explosion that flipped the offense.
TrendLoveland 2025 weekly game log
| Wk | Opp | Tgts | Rec | Yds | TDs | PPR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | MIN | 2 | 2 | 12 | 0 | 3.2 |
| 6 | WAS | 3 | 2 | 11 | 0 | 3.1 |
| 9 | CIN | 7 | 6 | 118 | 2 | 29.8 |
| 10 | NYG | 4 | 4 | 55 | 0 | 9.5 |
| 12 | PIT | 5 | 4 | 49 | 1 | 14.9 |
| 14 | GB | 5 | 4 | 29 | 1 | 12.9 |
| 17 | SF | 10 | 6 | 94 | 1 | 21.4 |
| 18 | DET | 13 | 10 | 91 | 1 | 25.1 |
| 19 | GB | 15 | 8 | 137 | 0 | 23.7 |
| 20 | LA | 10 | 4 | 56 | 0 | 9.6 |
Targets per game
| Week | Targets |
|---|---|
| W1 | 2 |
| W2 | 1 |
| W3 | 3 |
| W6 | 3 |
| W7 | 4 |
| W8 | 5 |
| W9 | 7 |
| W10 | 4 |
| W11 | 4 |
| W12 | 5 |
| W13 | 6 |
| W14 | 5 |
| W15 | 5 |
| W16 | 5 |
| W17 | 10 |
| W18 | 13 |
| W19 | 15 |
| W20 | 10 |
His Week 9 vs Cincinnati game (6-118-2, 29.8 PPR) changed the role permanently. Before that: 11 catches for 116 yards across 6 games — 1.8 catches per game. From Week 9 through the playoffs: 59 catches for 790 yards, averaging 4.9 per game.
The back-half pattern is unmistakable: in his final 4 games (W17-20) he averaged 12.0 targets, 7.0 catches, 94.5 yards per game. That's elite-TE production layered onto a rookie season — and it kept climbing into the playoffs.
Why it matters. The Week 9 breakout wasn't a fluke — it unlocked a structural role change. The Bears shifted from treating Loveland as a complementary piece to targeting him as the primary release valve, a shift that compounded each week through the playoffs.
Late-season surge: 94.5 yards per game in the final 4 weeks — nearly triple the early pace.
SplitLoveland 2025 — first 14 games vs last 4
| Span | Games | Tgts | Rec | Yds | TDs | Yds/G |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-16 | 14 | 59 | 42 | 528 | 4 | 37.7 |
| Weeks 17-20 | 4 | 48 | 28 | 378 | 2 | 94.5 |
48 targets across 4 games to close the year — that's a 12-target-per-game pace, roughly equivalent to a #1 WR's share. The Bears figured out late that the easiest matchup on the field was Loveland on a linebacker.
For reference: 94.5 yards per game over 4 games is what George Kittle's career average looks like during his All-Pro seasons. He didn't sustain it for a full year — but he sustained it for a quarter of the season, in the games that mattered.
Why it matters. A near-tripling of yards-per-game in the final four weeks is not noise — it reflects the Bears committing to a single-target identity late in the year, giving Loveland the kind of snap-and-target share typically reserved for a No. 1 receiver.
2nd in YPR among all TEs with 55+ catches in 2025 — a rookie ahead of Kittle, Kelce, Pitts, and Bowers.
Comparison2025 TE YPR leaders (55+ receptions, regular season)
| Player | Tgts | Rec | Yds | YPR | Draft class |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hunter Henry | 87 | 60 | 768 | 12.80 | 2016 |
| Colston Loveland | 82 | 58 | 713 | 12.29 | 2025 rookie |
| Juwan Johnson | 102 | 77 | 889 | 11.55 | 2020 |
| Travis Kelce | 108 | 76 | 851 | 11.20 | 2013 |
| George Kittle | 69 | 57 | 628 | 11.02 | 2017 |
| Tyler Warren | 112 | 76 | 817 | 10.75 | 2025 rookie |
| Brock Bowers | 86 | 64 | 680 | 10.63 | 2024 |
| Kyle Pitts | 118 | 88 | 928 | 10.55 | 2021 |
Among all tight ends with 55+ receptions in the 2025 regular season, Loveland ranks 2nd in yards per reception (12.29) — behind only Hunter Henry (12.80). He's ahead of Travis Kelce, George Kittle, Brock Bowers, and Kyle Pitts.
For a rookie with a first-year quarterback still developing rapport, that efficiency is the deeper signal. YPR measures separation quality and downfield usage, not volume — Loveland was churning out long gains on a modest 58-reception workload while the Bears still figured out the offense.
Why it matters. YPR among high-volume TEs is a proxy for route-running quality and downfield deployment. A rookie ranking #2 behind a veteran like Hunter Henry — ahead of Kittle and Kelce — suggests Loveland's efficiency is scheme-agnostic, not an artifact of a single big game.
Twice as many deep targets as Warren — Chicago uses him like a downfield WR.
ComparisonAir-yards profile vs class peer Tyler Warren
| Player | Avg Air Yds | Deep Tgts (15+) | Total Tgts |
|---|---|---|---|
| Colston Loveland | 9.9 | 30 | 109 |
| Tyler Warren | 5.4 | 13 | 114 |
On essentially identical target volume (109 vs 114), Loveland was sent on deep routes (15+ air yards) 30 times to Warren's 13. The average air-yard per target is 9.9 — nearly double Warren's 5.4.
That is the modern downfield-Y archetype — Kyle Pitts at his peak, Sam LaPorta, Brock Bowers when he's split out. The Bears effectively replaced the high-cost #2 WR signing they passed on by drafting a TE who could run those routes.
Why it matters. The air-yards gap reveals a scheme decision, not just a talent gap. Chicago used Loveland as a downfield Y-receiver — a usage pattern that typically requires a true WR1 budget but instead came from the TE slot, explaining how the Bears generated vertical threat without signing a top-tier wideout.
137-yard game in Week 19 (Wild Card vs Green Bay) — biggest game by a rookie TE in any 2025 playoff round.
MilestoneLoveland's three biggest games (2025)
| Wk | Opp | Tgts | Rec | Yds | TDs | PPR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19 (WC) | GB | 15 | 8 | 137 | 0 | 23.7 |
| 9 | CIN | 7 | 6 | 118 | 2 | 29.8 |
| 17 | SF | 10 | 6 | 94 | 1 | 21.4 |
In the Wild Card vs. Green Bay he was targeted 15 times — the most a Bears TE has been targeted in a single game in years — and posted 137 yards on 8 catches.
The 15-target line is the rare 'WR1 day for a TE' that happens maybe 3-4 times across the league each season. He did it as a rookie, in the playoffs, on the road, in his last game before turning 22.
Why it matters. A 15-target playoff game is a statement from the coaching staff — it means the Bears trusted a 21-year-old rookie as their primary stress-reliever in an elimination game. That trust level on the biggest stage of his first year sets the ceiling for what his role looks like in Year 2.
82 regular-season targets, 6 TDs — only 15 red-zone looks all season, almost none near the goal line.
Anomaly2025 TE red-zone targets — regular season (yardline ≤ 20)
| Player | RZ Tgts | RZ TDs | TD% |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trey McBride | 34 | 11 | 32.4% |
| Dallas Goedert | 15 | 10 | 66.7% |
| Jake Ferguson | 25 | 7 | 28.0% |
| Brock Bowers | 18 | 6 | 33.3% |
| George Kittle | 13 | 6 | 46.2% |
| Colston Loveland | 15 | 4 | 26.7% |
82 regular-season targets, 15 red-zone looks — the Bears simply didn't funnel goal-line work to Loveland. He converted 4 of those into TDs (26.7%), but the opportunity volume was minimal compared to how top TEs were used.
The story: he was deployed as a yards machine, not a goal-line option. McBride got 34 red-zone targets; Loveland got 15. If the staff shifts 4-5 more RZ targets to him in Year 2 at the same conversion rate, the TD total jumps to 9-10 — the threshold for Pro Bowl TE consideration. The production is there; the usage pattern is the gap.
Why it matters. Low red-zone target share on a high-usage receiver is a usage inefficiency, not a talent ceiling. It means Loveland's 6-TD total understates his scoring potential — he was simply not given the chances that peers like McBride (34 RZ targets) received.
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