Fantasy Football Player Notes

Most people expected Penn State's Tyler Warren to be the first tight end selected in this year's draft, but the Bears took Loveland 10th overall, while Warren went 14th to the Colts The 21-year-old Loveland is a talented young prospect who joins a Chicago offense that appears to be on the rise. Loveland will be playing for new Bears head coach Ben Johnson, who helped coax a TE1 overall finish out of rookie TE Sam LaPorta in Detroit in 2023. But Loveland faces stiff target competition in his rookie year, since the Bears have D.J. Moore, Rome Odunze and Luther Burden at wide receiver, plus veteran TE Cole Kmet. For now, Loveland is a more appealing asset in dynasty leagues than in redraft leagues, since it seems unlikely he'll make a major impact in his first NFL season.

There's no way around it: The Bears' selection of Michigan TE Colston Loveland with the 10th overall pick in this year's draft doesn't bode well for Cole Kmet's 2025 fantasy outlook. Kmet seemed to have a bright future after producing 73-719-6 in 2023 and finishing that season TE7 in half-point PPR fantasy scoring. But Kmet averaged only 3.2 targets per game last season, with WRs D.J. Moore, Keenan Allen and Rome Odunze combining for a 68.7% target share. Moore and Odunze are still around, and the Bears not only drafted Loveland in the first round, but WR Luther Burden in the second round. It would probably take multiple injuries to Chicago pass catchers for Kmet to be fantasy-relevant this season.