One of the first questions on every Chicago Bears fan's mind after the team selected tight end Colston Loveland in the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft was how he and veteran Cole Kmet would co-exist in Ben Johnson's offense.
Prior to the Loveland selection, Kmet was viewed as a viable pass-catching target who could competently fill the role Sam LaPorta dominated in with the Detroit Lions for Johnson in Chicago.
No, Kmet isn't the kind of pass-catcher LaPorta is, but he's certainly capable in his own right.
But with the addition of Loveland at No. 10 overall, the vision for Kmet became less clear. Sure, Johnson is well-known for utilizing two tight ends (35% of his offensive sets in 2024 were multiple tight ends), but Kmet, who just signed a four-year, $50 million contract in 2023, clearly isn't the vision Johnson has for the pass-catcher in his offense.
That leaves Loveland, who just turned 21, forced into the always uncomfortable situation of knocking a beloved veteran starter into a second-fiddle role.
Fortunately, Loveland has more than enough character to be a pro's pro on Day 1.
Bears TE Colston Loveland proving to be wise beyond his years
"I'm super excited just to meet him," Loveland said of Kmet and the rest of the veterans from the Bears' rookie minicamp. "I've heard great things about all the vets. You can tell it's a very tight culture here and everyone is super nice. I'm just excited to learn from him. They've been in the league for a long time, so just little tips and tricks that they've got. And even with the playbook, just learning everything from them and just watching, emulating."
Loveland gets it. He understands that his success could come down to having the right mentor teaching him the right lesson at the right time. Especially when that veteran -- Cole Kmet -- is still barely scratching his prime; he shouldn't take kindly to a rookie potentially upending him.
But Kmet, like Loveland, is a high-character, team-first guy. If the Chicago Bears can win more games with Loveland making big plays and catching touchdown passes from Caleb Williams, you can bet Kmet will do whatever he can to support him. And it won't matter who's getting more reps, as long as the wins pile up.
