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Why Bears TE Colston Loveland is a Mismatch Nightmare for Defenses
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- Why Bears TE Colston Loveland is a Mismatch Nightmare for Defenses
Colston Loveland can be described in many different ways.
Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson called him "Mr. Steady," and linebacker Devin Bush said he's a "really, really, really good player." The second-year tight end is also a problem for opposing defenses.
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"I think he's a really hard matchup for any safety in this league, any linebacker in this league that wants to cover him in man," Johnson said. "That's a tough ask. He's too big for these nickels to cover if that's the matchup that ends up dictating itself. I'm really pleased with where he's at. ..."
Loveland finished his second training camp in Chicago, continuing where he left off last season. He lead the Bears in receiving yards (713), receptions (58) and was tied with six touchdowns. Loveland established himself as one of Caleb Williams ' go-to targets.
The 6-foot-6, 241-pound tight end feels a noticeable difference heading into his second NFL season following a full summer of growth for both himself and the team.
"My body, my mindset as far as the playbook goes, relationship with teammates [and] coaches, I think everything is a little different, just more grown up I would say," Loveland said. "So yeah, I'm really looking forward to this year. It's going to be fun."
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With Loveland in Year 2 of Johnson's offense, he can also see the differences in how the unit functioned in training camp, having less missed assignments, which made the practices run a lot smoother.
"And then when you watch the tape, it's like, all right, we can actually see these plays, we can actually get plays off," Loveland said. "So, yeah, I think it was big. I think, yeah, we did a good job this camp. And second year in the offense, everyone as a whole kind of grasped that and really ran with that. Caleb's doing a great job commanding the offense. Yeah, ready to go."
Although Bush is in his first year with the Bears, he has already witnessed how explosive the offense can be when operating at full speed. Going head-to-head with Loveland throughout summer practices has helped Bush develop his coverage skills ahead of the upcoming season.
"Man, he's one of those guys, he has a way of just catching that ball, dawg," Bush said. "He just, I don't know. He's really good at tracking the ball, he's really good at stemming his routes and getting to his points and like I said, bringing that ball in. He has a huge catch radius. Obviously his athleticism is just a bonus with how he's structured and how he's built. He's a really tough cover."
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Bush is entering his eighth season in the NFL, so he's seen his fair share of playmaking tight ends. He knows the Bears have a dynamic playmaker at that position.
"[Loveland is] developing as a good player, is going to be a good player in this league for a long time, for however long he wants to play." Bush said.
