In the same farmstead where Colston Loveland grew up missing school and branding calves in the spring was the same home he found out he was the No. 10 overall selection in the 2025 NFL draft and would be joining the Chicago Bears. That place was Gooding, Idaho, population 3,802. 

Loveland grew up naturally playing receiver. His older brother, Cayden, was a receiver, and they worked together. There, Loveland developed a nuance for his route-running ability and trusted hands. 

Finishing his career at Gooding High School with 3,141 receiving yards, 35 receiving touchdowns, and 235 passes caught, Loveland explained in his opening press conference Thursday afternoon at Halas Hall that Gooding is a blue-collar, hard-working town. 

Recruited heavily out of high school, Loveland received offers from Michigan, Alabama, LSU, Auburn, Utah, Oregon State, Arizona State, Idaho, and Idaho State. When former Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh came to Gooding to meet Loveland in person, Loveland said the town was buzzing and quiclky knew that Harbaugh would be coming into town.

Gooding, in the southern part of Idaho has no professional sports team in the state. Loveland described his professional sports fandom as a kid growing up not having a particular favorite team — he watched it all. He did say to end his presser that he was a big Boise State fan growing up. 

When ESPN’s Courtney Cornin asked Loveland Friday morning at Halas Hall in his introductory press conference who he watched and molded his game after, Loveland mentioned three players: former Wolverine Nico Collins, Broncos tight end Evan Engram and Sam LaPorta. 

In July 2021, Loveland decided to play college football for Harbaugh in Ann Harbor, Michigan, over 1,824 miles from home. The transition from a small town of 3,800 to the University of Michigan with 52,800 students wasn’t a culture shock for Loveland.

“I feel like I’ve always been pretty personable, and I love meeting new people,” Loveland said. “It was different, for sure. I didn’t know anyone in Michigan when I first got there, but being on a team helps a lot, and I made friends pretty easily.” 

In three seasons playing for the Wolverines, Loveland played in 39 games, including 14 of them as a true freshman, 15 as a sophomore, and 10 this past season. His biggest production in a season was in 2023 when he finished with 649 yards receiving on 45 receptions, 14.4 yards per reception, and four touchdowns, helping Michigan win a National Championship. 

Despite playing only 10 games and playing through a shoulder injury, Loveland set the University of Michigan tight end record for most receptions in a season with 56 and did all that with three different quarterbacks under center this past season for the Wolverines. 

At 6-foot-6, Loveland doesn’t move like a traditional tight end, with a frame of a wide receiver. He measured with 10-inch hands, an arms length of 32.75 inches, weighing 248 pounds. With the shoulder injury requiring surgery, Loveland did not participate in the NFL Combine, instead, using the time to recover.

Loveland sustained a shoulder injury early in Michigan’s 2024 season. He remembers playing through a lot of pain throughout the season but was able to manage it. In Friday’s press conference, Loveland said he has a full range of motion and is good to go. 

The draft process

eTyler Warren and Loveland have always been the two first-round prospects in a not-so-heavy tight-end class. Loveland recalls that it wasn’t until late in the process that he had an idea he would be a top-10 pick. When Chicago drafted Loveland, it came as a shock to him. 

“You never really have an idea of where you’re going, so I’m always assuming worse,” Loveland said. “I knew I could be top-10, but to actually get the call, it was pretty special and it’s a blessing.” 

Draft analyst Todd McShay said before the draft that Loveland is a massive weapon and has a chance to be absolutely special.

“Not many guys at tight end ever get in and out of breaks the way he does. Excellent catalog — tight-ends don’t have catalogs of different ways to get off the line of scrimmage the way he does. Colston Loveland’s got it.” 

Loveland did say that shortly after learning he was a Chicago Bear, he received a text message from fellow tight end Cole Kmet saying, “I’m excited to get to work with you. Let’s go win some games.”

The Bears and, more importantly, head coach Ben Johnson now have another weapon to run his 12 personal sets and use Loveland’s versatility. This should hopefully make Caleb Williams and the Chicago Bears a scarier site on offense. Last season Chicago averaged18 points per game, tied for a league low.

General Manager Ryan Poles addressed the media Thursday night after the draft and broke down his reasoning for taking Loveland over Warren.

“Both really good players, there was a lot of good conversations there back-and-forth — Tyler is going to be a great football player as well,” he said. “Just in terms of what fits what we want to do a little better — with personal group that we have here on our roster — we felt that the combination of what we have was the better fit.”