Bears veteran’s new nickname for Colston Loveland says everything about the trust the team has in the rookie tight end
The players have a lot of confidence in Colston Loveland making plays for this offense.
When the Chicago Bears drafted tight end Colston Loveland with the 10th overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, the Bears were hoping to land a big-time player that could shine in big moments.
“He doesn’t bat an eye; he performs at a high level,” Bears head coach Ben Johnson explained in the spring after Loveland was drafted. “And as we talk about where we’re going as an organization, we’re going to be playing in these big games with the bright lights. We need guys that are going to rise up to the occasion, and he’s going to do that for us.”
While it took a while to get Loveland integrated and rolling in the offense, it didn’t take much longer after that for the rookie to start coming through in big moments. So far, no moment has been bigger than Loveland’s 58-yard game-winning touchdown in Week 9 against the Cincinnati Bengals.
But even before that moment, Loveland was building a strong connection with quarterback Caleb Williams and that connection was turning into trust in gotta-have-it situations. And in those situations, Loveland has largely been coming through for his team, while earning a new nickname.
Bears veteran Kevin Byard shares a fitting nickname for Colston Loveland
“Jokingly, on the sideline, I’ll be like ‘third-and-Colston,’” Pro Bowl safety Kevin Byard said during his interview with Loveland on his Intercepted podcast. “That’s your nickname, bro. Because I feel like every time we get to third-down, I personally feel like the ball should go to you. Just because of where you can obviously align – you can line up wide, you can line up in the slot, in-line. And you can route up corners, safeties, and definitely mismatch on a linebacker.”
That’s some high praise from one of the team’s top veteran leaders and a defensive team captain. But, Byard is absolutely right and it’s such a fitting nickname when you look at the stats and extend it to include fourth-downs. This season, on third or fourth-down, Loveland leads the team with 19 receptions and is tied with wide receiver Rome Odunze with three touchdowns and 14 first-downs.
We all know the kind of connection Williams has with Odunze and that same kind of bond is starting to form with his rookie tight end as well. Even just among all tight ends, Loveland’s 14 first-downs in those situations is tied for the fourth-most in the league.
“The tight end position, I feel like, is the QB’s blanket,” Loveland explained to Byard. “Whenever, strapped or not, you can always throw it to us and there’s a chance we’ll come down with it. That third-down or fourth-down, yeah I want the ball, give me the ball. Obviously we got other play-makers too, but I want to be the guy that makes the play and I’m very confident in myself and my teammates. That’s just how it’s always been.”
Loveland truly is a special player and will be for a long time in this league when you factor in his size, speed, athleticism, clutch gene, and age. There’s a reason teams were calling like crazy during the draft to move up and how those calls died down after the Bears selected Loveland.
It’s beyond clear that everyone involved made the right choice drafting this guy. He’s a big-time player and the kind of player this team needed in order to compete in big-time games.
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