Rookie tight end Colston Loveland and rookie running back Kyle Monangai came through for the Chicago Bears on Sunday
A pair of new heroes emerged for the Chicago Bears in their 47-72 barnburner win over the Bengals in Cincinnati, taking center stage in a lineup chock full of star power.
Tight end Colston Loveland (10th overall) and running back Kyle Monangai (7th round) put on a show at Paycor Stadium against the hapless Cincinnati Bengals defense, who were powerless to stop Chicago’s dual-threat offensive attack.
Loveland, the first tight end selected in the 2025 draft (Michigan) burned the Bengals repeatedly over the middle after Cole Kmet temporarily exited the game upon aggravating a back injury. The 6-foot-6, 246-pounder reeled in six catches for 118 yards and a pair of touchdowns, including a galloping 59-yarder with 0:17 remaining that proved to be the game-winner.
Monangai powered through the Cincinnati front-seven, gashing them en route to a whopping 26-carry, 176-yard day (6.8 YPC) while adding a trio of catches. Monangai’s longest play from scrimmage was a 39-yard scamper. All told, he finished with an eye-popping 198 yards from scrimmage in his first career start.
Fantasy lowdown: Expect Loveland to maintain the starting tight end role going forward. While Monangai is at the mercy of a returning D’Andre Swift, he has more than earned the right to see his fair share of carries in Chicago’s backfield. Both players should remain on fantasy rosters for the rest of the season.
Author: Samwise (@BuyAndSellYou)
Chicago Bears rookie tight end Colston Loveland has earned a...
Chicago Bears rookie tight end Colston Loveland has seen ...
Chicago Bears rookie tight end Colston Loveland put together...
Bears head coach Ben Johnson confirmed with the media that wide receiver Luther Burden is in the concussion protocol.
The Chicago Bears announced during a press conference with head coach Ben Johnson that rookie wide receiver Luther Burden is in the concussion protocol. This opens the windows for fellow rookie tight end Colston Loveland to assume a bigger role in the offense against the Cincinnati Bengals. Both rookies have not had much of an impact on the offense thus far in the season.
Luther Burden has only had 13 catches for 171 yards and a touchdown through 8 weeks. The best stat we can pull from this limited opportunity is the 86.7% catch rate on his 15 total targets. Colston Loveland was deemed the best tight end in a loaded tight end class. He hasn’t had a lot of opportunities, with only 18 targets that resulted in 11 catches for 116 receiving yards and no touchdowns. Let’s hope Loveland can finally show his skill set off against the Bengals.
UPDATE (11/2)
Burden has been ruled out for today’s game versus Cincinnati.
Author: Jesse Baldwin @J_Baldwin51
Chicago Bears rookie tight end Loveland declared himself “100%” in preparation for training camp.
While Loveland didn’t say he’d be on the field for the first practice of Bears training camp, the rookie tight end declared himself “100%” ready to go.
Loveland underwent reconstructive surgery in January on his right shoulder, an injury that he had played through from late September to the end of the season. The tight end was still a Mackey Award finalist, hauling in 56 catches for 582 yards and five touchdowns en route to being named second-team All-Big Ten. He went on to say he could be limited at the first practices of camp, as there weren’t “live bullets flying yet. We’ll really know in camp once I get out there, doing a lot more stuff.”
The tight end was selected by Chicago with the No. 10 overall pick in this year’s draft. He joins five-year starter Cole Kmet in the Bears’ tight end room, which could temporarily cap Loveland’s early potential. With that said, Kmet snared just 28 catches in 2024 and could eventually be relegated to an in-line option thanks to Loveland’s downfield capability.
It’s best to view the room as a two-pronged attack in 2025 by fantasy managers, while awaiting an eventual takeover by the premier draft pick. Dynasty managers who have not drafted yet would do well to hop aboard the bandwagon for a player that many publications had ranked higher than Tyler Warren (Colts).
Author: Sam Schneider (@BuyAndSellYou)
The Top-2 Rookie Draft Picks for the Chicago Bears, TE Colston Loveland and WR Luther Burden, are missing practice while dealing with injuries.
With rookie practice barely starting, the Bears cannot bear any more bad news.
First round draft pick TE Colston Loveland and Second round pick WR Luther Burden are both currently sitting out rookie camp. Colston’s absence is unsurprising, as the team knew he was dealing with an AC joint injury, which requires time to recover. However, Burden is already dealing with a “soft tissue issue” indicating a higher chance of recurrence later on during the season. Both players are expected to be back when the entire team reports later this summer.
Both players are intriguing dynasty selections, getting drafted in RD2 most league formats. Loveland is the TE10 in Bestball ADP, while Burden is the WR50. Neither should be more than stacking targets at those prices in the bestball streets.
Author: Bradley Stalder (@FFStalder)
Michigan TE Colston Loveland surprises the draft community as the first TE off the board and the third overall pass catching weapon selected in 2025
Colston Loveland is already one of the more polarizing players in the 2025 draft. As a rookie move tight end, he landed on what’s shaping up to be an ascending offense with an upgraded coaching staff, a year of NFL experience for Caleb Williams, and exceptional draft capital. Those looking for a Sam LaPorta like season under Ben Johnson might want to temper expectations though.
Thinking critically through this landing spot, there are already 2 premier pass catchers on the roster in D.J. Moore and Rome Odunze, with an entrenched starting TE in Cole Kmet. The Bears struggled in the pass game last year and even though they are expected to improve, it most likely will be incremental and not exponential. All that to say, Loveland will not be the #2 target on the team and the offense will not have enough production to elevate him as a top TE asset. He’s a stay away in FastDraft in all formats and at best a stash for Dynasty leagues. The right move might just be a Trey McBride like buy low in a year or maybe two.
Author: Lukasz Stec (@Lukasz_FF01)
NFL Analyst Peter Schrager reported that from a weekend full of calls, Colston Loveland has a lot more love for him in NFL draft rooms than most mock draft analysts are accounting for.
Michigan early declare TE Colston Loveland has been entrenched in mock drafts as 2025’s Tight End 2. PlayerProfiler has him at 14 on our big board, and he is averaging around pick 17 across several other services. Draft night prognostication is difficult, we have just about seen it all, but IF this news is for real what does that mean for Loveland?
If draft order stays put until April 24th – Pick 17 is the Bengals, which is probably why a lot of people are shoehorning Loveland into a dream fit. We can almost certainly rule out picks 1-4, as only ‘generational prospect’ Kyle Pitts has ever been selected that high in the draft. The Jaguars do need a TE, but with all the other team needs, pick 5 for Loveland is a real stretch, and the Raiders do not need a TE. That leaves: The Jets, Panthers, Saints, Bears, 49ers and Cowboys as potential destinations. The Bears and 49ers have crowded receiver rooms but IF Loveland goes to the Jets, Panthers, Saints or Cowboys… its wheels up! He could legitimately become the second target in any of those offenses, making him a strong buy in Dynasty drafts and potentially leap frogging Tyler Warren.
Author: Lukasz Stec (@Lukasz_FF01)
